Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison

12 reviews

jessikalange's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I was hesitant to read this book because I don't usually like really sad books. Even though this book is very sad, there is hope in it. I can't really explain it. If you like dystopian books, wait until you need a good cry and then read this book. Also, make sure you read the trigger warnings... There are a lot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Grief, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Death, Infertility, Pedophilia, Self harm, Medical content, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Pandemic/Epidemic, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Abortion, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

stabilesero's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

This was an absolutely gut-wrenching story of love, loss, pleasure and pain set in post-apocalyse Earth where women are wiped out and babies cannot be born. 
For me, this hit hard on what it is to be a woman, what hardships it brings already and what can be further brutalised and used to others' advantage when it becomes rare. I also loved the raw description/addition of Dusty's need, want and lust for stimulation, because it added another level to this type of dystopian ficion novel that many other overlook or focus on male pleasure. 
I am thoroughly looking forward to the next two books in this series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Slavery, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Kidnapping

jmstorytime's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I never thought a book would ever top my favorite books of all time. This book though….chefs kiss. I devoured this beautifully written book in 24 hours. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infertility, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Self harm, and Sexual harassment

tr4shc4n's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Sexism, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Murder, Violence, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Adult/minor relationship

katrinarose's review against another edition

dark reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Extremely bleak and tough read but I could not put it down. I loved the character of the unnamed midwife and the how well the author also developed even minor characters as they appeared. I also like the alternating style of her journal and omnipresent narrative. I was taken aback at first when we learned about characters and events that the midwife did not know about but it was satisfying (although sad). I like that the author didn’t shy away from the brutal realities of this post-apocalyptic world, and didn’t sugarcoat her view of human nature, as depressing as it was. This book is definitely not for everyone (between the triggering content, narrative style, and somewhat bare plot) but I really liked it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Blood, Cursing, Death, Medical content, Pedophilia, Rape, Murder, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Homophobia, Infertility, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Trafficking, and Sexual content

Moderate: Abortion, Grief, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

thechroniclesofnadia's review

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Rape, Body horror, Grief, Sexual violence, and Miscarriage

Minor: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

hngisreading's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Murder, Slavery, Grief, Miscarriage, Medical content, Rape, Blood, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Suicide, Gun violence, Death, Physical abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Violence, Pedophilia, and Trafficking

kat1105's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Self harm, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Vomit

larbster90's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-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

4.5

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

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Content Warnings

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

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

leksikality's review against another edition

dark reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Of the plague-decimates-population-via-infertility genre, this one does a pretty good job. It's no wonder it's won an award, and ought to win more.

The main character isn't necessarily likeable but I like her - and the way her attitudes/behaviour changes as the book progresses feels more natural than a lot of post-apocalyptic narratives.

I have read a lot of post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction from a broad span of time (it's my academic research niche so I'm pretty well exposed to it), this is one of the ones I got excited about reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Child death, Violence, and Trafficking

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Suicide and Adult/minor relationship