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sheshallbenamed's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Animal death, Child death, Death, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, War, Violence, Self harm, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Excrement
beauvisseau's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Although the main character, Briseis, does not have a highly developed character, I feel that it fits with her state of being. The grief of losing her loved ones but also one's self can turn you into a shell of memories and thoughts.
One point of criticism though, is that I would have liked to see more perspectives of different women there. It is a missed opportunity to switch between Briseis, Patroclus and Achilles, when two of those three narratives have already been explored for centuries but so many narratives are missing.
Amazing work of fiction that truly expands upon the existing narratives and opened my eyes to many new ideas about war, feminism, story-telling, slavery and power. Would recommend to anyone.
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, War, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Genocide, Gore, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Violence, Physical abuse, and Xenophobia
matthiasreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Slavery, Rape, Violence, War, and Self harm
Moderate: Sexual assault and Suicide
shannasbooksnhooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
"Once, not so long ago, I tried to walk out of Achilles's story - and failed. Now, my own story can begin."
I wouldn't have considered my hopes "high" for this book, but I had been looking forward to reading it for close to 4 years now. As a result, while I can't say that I was "disappointed" in this book, it didn't hit the mark for me. I think this is a very unique retelling of The Iliad, which is why I would highly recommend this as a read (even more so if you enjoyed The Song of Achilles). The retelling of The Iliad through Briseis's eyes makes this a great book in its own right. However, for me (as mentioned), it fell short. It was character-driven and slow-paced for me, and I was wishing there was more action because of the source material. Something else that bothered me was that the dialogue felt too "21st-century-esque" for me and had too many uses of "fuck." I'm not saying the characters should have talked in the typical way Ancient Greeks are depicted in pop culture, and I'm not saying they should have had more "proper" sounding language (whatever that would mean). However, I feel like it was too much of the way we talk today with the language Barker had characters use rather than having them talking less like us. (I guess I wanted it to mirror the language of <i>The Iliad</i> a bit more while getting a woman's POV.) Additionally, The Silence of the Girls seems to come off as a feminist retelling of The Iliad, and it is so great we get a woman's POV of this story. And since it's a retelling of such an old story, Barker could have taken some creative license with Briseis' character, especially due to how limited her character was in the source material. However, it just felt like it was labeled as "feminist" when Briseis does little to actually advocate for herself or the other women. (And a lot of the women end up gossiping, which didn't sit well with me.)
This had the potential to be a fantastic read for me, but it was a bit too lackluster for me.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual content, War, Cursing, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Self harm
This part's a spoiler-y comment in addition to what I mentioned earlier about action.lotten4's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Gore, Blood, Violence, Rape, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Animal death, War, Murder, Misogyny, and Genocide
Moderate: Suicide, Pregnancy, and Pedophilia
Minor: Vomit, Self harm, Medical content, and Alcohol
murano's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, Body horror, Murder, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and War
Minor: Vomit and Self harm
lynnrahm's review
5.0
I’ve read a few negative reviews for this one and with a heavy heart I tell you they don’t speak nonsense. This book has its faults. It’s called The Silence of The Girls but Achilles and my sweet boy Pat outshine them all. Like come on! We love Pat and the bloodthirsty gay moron but WHERE IS THE CONTENT WE WERE PROMISED? WHERE ACTUALLY ARE THE GIRLS? Being raped? Being sacrificed? Being tortured to death? Hmm.
We were robbed of the things we actually wanted to read.
But I’m giving it a five star review. Nope nope I’m still the sanest person alive. And this book deserves a five star. I loved how the author succeeded in portraying the war and the lives of the soldiers. I loved that it had Achilles’ pov and loved the way he navigated around Patroclus and dealt with his grief. Come to think of it this book had more of Achilles than it had of Briseis (AND IT IS A BOOK TOLD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BRIS) But as I said—Achilles’ mommy issues (no cap) and his tenderness for his father leading him to be gentle with Priam and him caring for his myrmidons—truly splendid.
And thus it was worth my time.
PS: Ik I right the worst kind of reviews.
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, and War
ysantacruz's review
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
Minor: Self harm
lavendl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcohol and Cursing
Minor: Animal death, Fatphobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit
longhairzuko's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Slavery, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexism, Death, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Vomit, War, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Child death
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts