Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy

85 reviews

moosereads1's review

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

This book was definitely interesting for me, and I honestly didn't expect most of the plot twists! While it does talk a decent amount about menopause and the struggles faced by menopausal women, as advertised, it turns to a larger examination of the way women are treated in society - how they must be Good and Useful. Social commentary aside, it's just a good, gory book! I always love an angry, vengeful female MC, and this book does a great job of showing her progression toward rage rather than having her start off angry. There were a couple of stereotypes about women that I didn't appreciate sprinkled throughout, but my only real issue was not a fault of the story but my own personal views - this contained one of my few triggers and I wasn't fully prepared for it. If you have an issue with harm coming to animals, especially dogs, proceed with caution!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Blood, Gore, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, and Violence

captainsydney's review

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Death, Gore, Violence, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Body horror, Bullying, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Animal death

Minor: Child death

This book is super graphic and deals with a lot of heavy stuff, but I think it handles it all really well. There's A LOT but none of it felt gratuitous and all of it was handled appropriately in my opinion and worth it.

bigleebowski's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

Far too long, gets incredibly tedious until maybe chapter 35ish—which really had me wanting to file this under a DNF. To Nat Cassidy’s credit, he—yes, I too was surprised to discover the author was a man—writes the role, perspective, and struggle of aging menopausal women very well and with respect. That said, you’ll have a funner time with The Haar, Rouge, and/or Sister, Maiden, Monster in regards to somewhat similar plot tones. Mary was nothing like American Psycho or Midsommar, which is how it was marketed for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Misogyny

dehernandez3169's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is easily one of the best books I've ever read. 

Written by a man, Nat Cassidy was able to write exactly what it is like being a woman, especially a middle aged woman. There were time where I had to put the book down just to process how he was able to capture everything so perfectly. 

The horror is JUST as good as feminist points. It is a rollercoaster and I had no idea how things where going to go. 

Read it. Just... Read it. (Or listen to the audio book. It just as fantastic.) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, and Body horror

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

twistykris's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

This is a horror novel I'll be haunted by for a while. This was hard to look away from- mesmerizing but grotesque. Cassidy's writing is engaging and the plot twists were unexpected for me. The last 15% of the book or so had me sitting on the couch covering my mouth in horror and disgust (and also a little glee?).

The audiobook narrator, Susan Bennett, does an absolutely INCREDIBLE job. The emotion in her voice when Mary feels angry or scared or meek is just perfectly executed.

I think some of the book was too drawn out though and it could have been trimmed down a little.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Death, Animal death, Body shaming, Misogyny, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Confinement, Bullying, Death of parent, and Vomit

_meeg's review

NGL dude this one was just too brutal for me. Felt too unwell to justify continuing reading after the cactus scene.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Sexism, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Grief, Suicide, Death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Drug use, Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Cursing, Excrement, Gore, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

toastrats's review

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Everything meaningful I could say about this book is still brewing in my head. That said, I am never going to get this quote out of my head again: "He's the shit king of fart mountain."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Misogyny, and Gore

Moderate: Child abuse and Torture

Minor: Confinement and Bullying

novel_grace's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I went in expecting to love this book, and was still surprised by just HOW much I enjoyed it (as much as you can enjoy something this bloody). Despite this being a story hugely about a struggle for identity and reality and personhood, Mary had such a  distinct voice, that only got sharper and more defined as the book went along.

I was truly shocked when I realized a third of the way in that the author is a man, because it truly handled topics of womanhood with the subtly and honesty I would expect from someone who has experienced it first hand. The authors note preceding the book and the afterword truly put this book over the top for me. 

Beyond the incredibly valid and important discussions of patriarchy and womanhood, this book truly succeeds as a horror story. It was so CREEPY in so many way. I had to stop reading it at night because it unnerved me so much. 

Thrilling and genuine and terrifying and surprisingly heartfelt - this might be my new favorite horror novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

kermit_the_wrong's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Cursing, Body shaming, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Murder, Religious bigotry, Torture, Misogyny, and Violence

vixenreader's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Akin to the works of Ottessa Moshfesh, this is an intimate, scary study of a disturbed character going through ordeals that are both relatable and horrifying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Confinement, Fatphobia, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, Torture, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Body horror, Body shaming, Death of parent, Bullying, Violence, Cursing, and Death

Moderate: Kidnapping, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Drug use, Abandonment, Racism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Cancer, Animal cruelty, Ableism, and Child death

Minor: Alcohol, Excrement, Vomit, and Lesbophobia

Please be aware that there is ageism against middle-aged women, cult activity, family dysfunction, murder of a family member, and purposeful glorification of a serial killer.