Reviews tagging 'Death'

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

96 reviews

cele3222's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Ooosh oosh Ooosh its an epic story
Well written thats fo sure 
Brutal, bloody ,and pulled on my heart strings at times :''''( , the whole thing is pretty dark and twisted and spiteful, vengeance and all the things that make up stories from the Greeks 
Definitely darker than Circe or song of Achilles. But also deffo pulled some of the different myths I had read about together, like w helen /Troy and Achilles and stuff.
I had to Google what happened to her after the end of the book, oosh, makes me want to read Electra.
It was deffo one of the better/bestest retellings I've read of greek myths. 
Layered complicated personal and very human characters . We really understand clythemnestra and why she did what she did... 
I'm glad there were some strands that were not full of hate though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Murder, Grief, Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Child death

yilliun's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I have seen the Oresteia play performed before, so this was a very interesting re-examination of the Greek classic for me. I think my main criticism stems from

Casati leaving out WHY Agamemnon offended the God’s and sacrificed Iphigenia. I think adding this narrative element would have made Clytemnestra’s rage EVEN MORE valid.

I think at some points Clytemnestra ends up reading as a cartoonish villain in her quest for vengeance. I do have to respect that she really played the long game in waiting to

murder her husband

. Overall, if you want a story about female rage and refusing to break for the men who believe women are weak, this is a good choice.

I found the family tree extremely helpful considering how entangled these families are. I frequently referenced it even as I got close to finishing the book, I still got confused lol

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Domestic abuse, Child death, and Rape

Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Death, and Suicidal thoughts

It’s an adaptation of a Greek myth. These are all (unfortunately) standards for the genre, even if the version is done from a woman’s perspective.

ltsang08's review

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Incest, Sexual assault, Child death, War, and Rape

raebae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Incest, Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, War, Violence, Sexism, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Confinement, Alcohol, Murder, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Addiction, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Gore, Cannibalism, Blood, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Child death, and Sexual harassment

leila_scola's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Rape

amyiris's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Pregnancy, Violence, Death, Child death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, and Misogyny

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Slavery

Minor: Body shaming, War, Incest, Lesbophobia, Death of parent, Outing, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape

rmperash's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Bullying, Physical abuse, Incest, Alcoholism, Blood, Genocide, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, War, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Torture

robynmarisa_'s review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Rape, Murder, and Grief

Moderate: War

Minor: Incest

josisteacup's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was looking forward to this book for a while and it fulfilled all of my expectations. 
Being familiar with Greek mythology and Clytemnestras story I knew what I was going into. I've also read a few other retelling of Greek mythology so I knew there would likely be a critical discussion of societal issues, deep and complex character work and graphic descriptions of the horror of these times. 
Clytemnestra is a complex and not necessarily likeable character and the Author doesn't shy back from showing her flaws. As a "God forbid a women does anything" (sarcastic) enthusiast I love books which portray women as humans who have both positive and negative traits. 
The book is also very well written and has a nice flow. 
The side characters and their relationships with Clytemnestra are well developed.
All in all I enjoyed reading the book. It stands out amongst other retellings and I'm already looking forward to the authors next book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Child death, Death, Pregnancy, Rape, Murder, Sexual assault, War, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Classism, Grief, Sexual content, Slavery, and Domestic abuse

smunderwood38's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Child death, Infidelity, War, Murder, Sexual content, Rape, Death, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Incest, and Sexual violence