Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison

23 reviews

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

alyssatuininga's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.75

 I heard about this one on NPR and it seemed right up my alley- post-apocalyptic, science fiction with a midwife as the main character. There are no zombies, aliens, or evil creatures just a plague that wipes out most of humanity, especially women. The characters were fantastic and it had a very realistic feel to it- tense, sad, lonely, hopeful, and yet utterly painful. Please note that there is a lot of violence, especially sexual violence, and death. I listened to this one on audiobook and didn’t realize when I started that it is a trilogy (from what I understand each book is about a different person in the same world). It wasn’t the most mature writing (and a few of the author’s quirks annoyed me a little) but as it was written as a journal I could mostly let them go. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Infertility, Pregnancy, Torture, and Child death

abbacirc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Infertility, Death, Slavery, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Child death

Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Infidelity

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

polo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Very entertaining. I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but it had an interesting main character and I enjoyed the historical perspective, along with the way many stories criss-crossed into one another. 
PLEASE read the content warnings on this one before you start. Not kidding.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Blood

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Torture, and Suicide

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

batcaves's review against another edition

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

readmeem's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Infertility, Child death, Trafficking, Sexism, Medical content, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Pregnancy, and Medical trauma

Minor: Miscarriage, Grief, Outing, Cursing, Self harm, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Gun violence