Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

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

53 reviews

florapants84's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

lily1304's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.25

I definitely learned a lot about the history of Mormonism - although I'm curious how a Mormon would tell the story differently, since Krakauer's version is unflattering to say the least. There's some true crime drama.

I was really interested in a section about the insanity defense for one of the murderers - Krakauer reflects on what separates a completely normal religious belief from a pathological delusion - in particular, the belief that one can talk to God. Here and in Into the Wild, I really admire Krakauer's ability to explore a true story as a parable about the peculiarities of American culture.

There were definitely slow sections that I skipped though, and Krakauer is so harsh on the wackiness of Mormon beliefs and history that I found myself feeling defensive and I'm not even Mormon. The LDS Church as a global institution has PLENTY of issues, but I assume that most Mormons don't really believe that the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants are literally true and binding, just like most Christians don't see the Bible that way. I think the reality that most Mormons are pretty normal people is not a factor in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Hate crime, Gun violence, Incest, Xenophobia, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Rape, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, and Misogyny

If I were Mormon I imagine I would take serious issue with Krakauer's characterization of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young

alylentz's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

A difficult read on all kinds of levels! Really tough on an emotional level to read about the rampant abuse and pedophilia in fundamental Mormonism, but necessary--I'm sure that I'm not alone in that I hadn't thought of polygamy as anything beyond a weird kind of cultural joke because my main exposure to it is things like Sister Wives, but this was a real eye-opener. Had to push through the in-depth sections on the origins and history of Mormonism, though I understand why they were important to include. I picked it up in anticipation of the show and am interested to see how they'll tackle some of these far-reaching questions and discussions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gun violence, Incest, Homophobia, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

book_rascal's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

3.5

 

This book is about the double murder of Brenda and Erica Lafferty in 1984. Brenda was married to Allen Lafferty and Erica was their fifteen-month-old daughter. Allen's brother Ron was angry with Brenda because she had helped his wife escape the abusive relationship with him. Ron and his brother Dan had become fundamentalist Mormons and believed God was telling them to kill Brenda and Erica so they did. 

This book goes into detail about the Mormon religion from the very beginning to today, as well as details about the murderer's state of mind. I definitely learned a lot. The murder was horrifying, slitting a baby's throat is monstrous. Both men were found guilty but there isn’t a punishment severe enough for these bastards.  

If you are interested in true crime and/or the history of the Mormon religion this is the book for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Blood, Child death, Sexism, Emotional abuse, and Violence

melanna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

I put this book on my reading list because it was suggested for a reading prompt (i don’t even remember what it was, I’ll find it when I look it up)

I’m notorious for not knowing what books are about before I start them. 

The last book I read by this author was about his trip up Mount Everest. The cover I saw of this book had some rocks on it so I thought it might be about one of his other escapades. 

Turns out it’s about the history of the Mormon church (as viewed by an outsider). It’s an interesting overview of the history. I quite enjoyed it. It went through the good the bad and the ugly and it’s amazing to me how many people can still cling to beliefs of such a young religion. 

I have a few friends that I will be interested to hear their thoughts. (You know who you are!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

angelanoelle's review against another edition

challenging dark informative tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Physical abuse, Violence, and Sexism

Moderate: Racism, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Trafficking

linddykal's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Murder, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, and Child abuse

alyg's review against another edition

dark informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Murder

barelyconcealed's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative sad fast-paced

3.75

 This is a re-read, though the first time I've listened to the audiobook.

When I was working retail I went through a pretty deep Krakauer phase and I remember this as being one of my favorites. I personally think it holds up pretty well, but I don't really have an attachment to Mormonism - either negative or positive.

It is interesting to go through and research some of the people who are mentioned only by name throughout this book, where their stories were yet unfinished. In some cases there doesn't appear to be any real conclusion to be drawn yet (I may have missed it, but I can't find any closure to the case of Kenyon Blackmore).

The decision to bounce between the astonishingly disturbing Lafferty case and the skeletons in the closet of the Mormon church is an interesting one - it definitely creates a parallel between these two elements. But it's a necessary one for discussing the specific form of religious fervor that the Lafferty's fell into - who they are is decidedly shaped by the history of the church.

There's a point made early in this book that I think often gets overlooked in discussion about it that Mormonism suffers from having its history so accessible as one of the only prominent modern religions - we know Joseph Smith was a real man in a way that is harder to confirm with other religious figures. We know his history in a way we cannot know other religious figures history.

I think this book is worth a read, especially if you're interested in true crime writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Violence, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, and Racism

Religious trauma.

willascanlon's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

3.0

I’m not sure how to rate this book bc it was so well written and compelling but very much not for me. A lot of the content was insane and a bit triggering but then other parts were so slow and historically dense. I think if you like historical pieces and have carefully looked over the content warnings then it could be a better read. But definitely look into the themes in the book before reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, and Domestic abuse