Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison

13 reviews

larbster90's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Incredible book, very compelling couldn't stop reading it. Definitely increased my anxiety, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infertility, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide attempt

batcaves's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

bex_knighthunter's review against another edition

4.5

dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Wow - bleak, atmospheric, incredibly dark but very readable and with a refreshingly queer perspective on the apocalypse. I love survival narratives, so really enjoyed all the minutiae about finding shelter, food etc. (and with birth control which doesn't feature enough in sci-fi!) but also enjoyed the bigger ideas around: what cultures and communities would develop and survive (not all good), female empowerment & sexual autonomy. This generally focussed on the small picture (which felt realistic given the rate of societal collapse meant that much would remain a mystery), but there were some story sections that explored wider narratives which I appreciated. I enjoyed the framing story, which also provided some hope from the start.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape, Slavery

Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Pregnancy

Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Suicide