Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

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

73 reviews

gwynian's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual violence, Stalking, Incest, Pedophilia, Body horror, Sexual assault, War, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcohol and Miscarriage

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

catslippers's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative medium-paced

3.75

Good pacing and prose for a fascinating topic. Krakauer editorialized a little too much for my taste, both in favor of and against Mormonism and the various other faiths depicted in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pedophilia, and Rape

mellowhello's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

4.0

This book is a little hard to follow at times (at least for me because my working memory isn’t so good) with all of the intermarriage and polygamy and jumping back and forth in time, but it is a fascinating dive into the history of Mormonism and its consistent fracturing into schisms. Although the book is largely focused on Mormon fundamentalists rather than mainstream Mormons, it provides an in-depth background on the founding of the faith and the factors that led to Utah being Mormon central. Would highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about it, with a big CW for some graphic violence, pedophilia and SA. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Rape

cinnaminskies's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Trafficking, Violence, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Misogyny

Moderate: Rape, Hate crime, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Infidelity, Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Mental illness

fiveredhens's review against another edition

dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

5.0

i think it's time to admit to myself i would read practically anything jon krakauer writes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Incest, and Colonisation

jazzofmine's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This book earns five ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars from me! It’s definitely for someone interested in Mormon history, development of fundamental offshoots of Mormonism and deeper, philosophical thinking about the nature (and dangers) of religion. I would describe this as “gruesome, Mormon true crime” to any potential reader. 

The primary aim of the book is to explore these situations that beg us to ask “How could this happen” with substantial history and development of this religion. The author explores history and provides context in order to show how the LDS organization provided a conducive environment for radical, extremists to be bred and thrive. 

The example of the Lafferty brothers‘ murder of their sister in law and baby niece is reprehensible, but not isolated. And not an accident. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Blood, Murder, Rape, Incest, Sexism, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Very graphic, great read; informative

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

jazzreads's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Under the Banner of Heaven is a deeply disturbing examination of the history of the Mormon Church. As hard as it is to read, this book is incredibly well written and well researched. If you’re interested in learning about Mormonism, its place in American history, or just cults in general, you’ll get a lot of this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Rape, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Gore, Incest, Violence, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, Drug use, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, and Racism