Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer

70 reviews

lmsokol18's review against another edition

challenging dark informative fast-paced

5.0

Fascinating book that tells the story of the Lafferty murders and Mormon fundamentalism alongside the history of the Mormon religion. This book is enraging and devastating. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Sexual assault, Child death, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Blood, and Child abuse

knachknachjoke's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

A haunting, thorough exploration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, its history, and the dark implications of what actually investigating that history leads one to believe.

I would have considered myself somewhat knowledgeable on LDS church history before this read, but Krakhauer blew pretty much everything out of the water with how thorough his storytelling was. He discloses at the end his own perspective—that he hadn't intended for this to be anything other than an amicable exploration of Mormon history inspired by an admiration for his childhood friends' faiths—and the resonance I felt to his perspective was really startling.

I think my biggest takeaway from reading this, and I believe Krakhauer's from writing it, is just how frightening the two roads you can take after studying Mormonism's history are: either you discern it is one man's quest for sex and power, or you conclude that everything—polygamy, blood atonement, white supremacy, child abuse—is all true and all imperative to a right way of life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Child death, Gore, Incest, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, and Pregnancy

whitneybarr's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

balconyblackbird's review against another edition

dark funny informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Murder, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Death, Child death, Blood, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Child abuse, and Body horror

pocketeds's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, and Murder

oliviamich's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child death, Murder, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Death

Moderate: Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, and Drug use

qog's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Pedophilia, Racism, Gun violence, Child death, Mass/school shootings, Incest, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Misogyny, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Racial slurs

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Murder, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Rape, Racial slurs, Child death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

miblette's review against another edition

challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

3.5

This was part history part true crime. It jumped around between timelines, and while I appreciate the author trying to make connections from the past to the present, I think I personally prefer chronological nonfiction. Overall, it was fascinating, tragic, heartbreaking, and informative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Misogyny, Violence, Racism, Child death, Blood, and Murder

allys_shelf's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Grief, Misogyny, Child death, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, and Incest

Moderate: Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Death, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Gun violence, Incest, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Child death, and Drug use