Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Oroonoko by Aphra Behn

6 reviews

mizreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual violence and Racism

question47's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Deportation, Cultural appropriation, Blood, Colonisation, Body horror, Torture, Slavery, Murder, Gore, Classism, Racism, Self harm, and Trafficking

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Adult/minor relationship

ren_reading's review

adventurous challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, and Slavery

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Its difficult to give this book a star rating. This was assigned to me for a college course that is focused on early British literature. At first, I appreciated the opportunity to read something from a female author and an early example of a traditional novel. However, as the story went on, the content became more and more gruesome, and my enthusiasm for the text vanished.

The story is a very graphic depiction of an enslaved person's life on a plantation in the 1680s. And you get a cross section of everything that comes with that. The last third is especially difficult to get through. From a purely academic perspective, it's a good representation of early white supremacy, colonialism, slavery, the slave trade, racism, bigotry, misogyny, etc. And all within just sixty pages.

Don't read this book if you don't have to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

ed_moore's review

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

This book was brutal. I think that may be the best word to describe it. Oroonoko was written in 1688 by the English writer Aphra Behn. Written in an age where British colonisation was prominent and the slave trade was ongoing, Behn writes condemning the institution of slavery, whereas not in the means that immediately you’d assume. She does not criticise the evil of the institution, instead his becoming enslaved lessens the prince Oroonoko’s nobility. This is where I note some substantial flaws in the book, firstly it’s context meaning the institution of slavery is not criticised and in some cases even justified, and secondly in regards to the protagonist of the story. Oroonoko is of nobility and depicted to have a much more comfortable experience than the ordinary slave throughout the majority of the story. Behn avoids the massive and unavoidable issues in her writing only putting emphasis on the nobility of one individual. I would also add this book is full of trigger warnings, notably the slave trade, inappropriate sexual relations and extreme violence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Racism, Violence, and Trafficking

lquel's review

dark

2.0

incredibly racist depictions. the story is written from a coloniser’s point of view.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gore, Hate crime, and Racial slurs