Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - When I Hit You

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy

37 reviews

_eilish_'s review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

I read this around two years ago and it has stuck with me more than other books, I still think about it at least every two weeks. However it is very graphic and I think you need to check the trigger warnings before reading. I definitely should have.

Content Warnings

sugarpopreads's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

twitchywitchy314's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

a heart-wrenching expression of the fear & pain of feeling stuck and alone in an abusive relationship

Content Warnings

missmethven's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

So much potential with this book but I was so disappointed! To be honest, everywhere I’ve seen this book described or had recommended to me, there was never a mention of the essay or diary type writing style which I didn’t enjoy throughout. That element isn’t a negative thing usually but I didn’t feel it had flow and couldn’t get into the book in part because of it.
The same goes for the chronology - or lack thereof - and jumpy narrative throughout, which stagnated the flow which there really wasn’t much of.

The writing is beautiful, poetic and lyrical with some really really great bits. Not to mention the detail of everything she experienced, it was harrowing and graphic - I have so much respect for the author. It also shone a light on Indian culture and the acceptance of domestic violence on a larger scale than in the west.

I’m gutted I didn’t enjoy this one more, there is so much potential but despite my feminism, the subject matter and content within the pages, the style of writing just wasn’t for me and ultimately stopped me from enjoying it as a whole.

Content Warnings