Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

11 reviews

exist0ni's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

neverlandpages4's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

• I was excited to read this because it’s what inspired many of the more recent thrillers like “The Woman in the Window” and “The Woman in Cabin 10” and the hundreds of other thrillers that have “woman” in the title. Unfortunately, this was one of the least thrilling and one of the least suspenseful books I’ve ever read.

• I should’ve known I wouldn’t like this because one of my least favorite tropes in thrillers is the alcoholic unreliable narrator. I quickly get tired and annoyed with the amount of times that drinking is mentioned and the main character constantly being confusing about the details of what might’ve or might’ve not happened.

• I was also really confused by the timeline. We follow 2 or 3 timelines that are leading up to each other but at the same time, they constantly switch to a random time and I just couldn’t keep track of it.

• Also, there’s the matter of the racist stereotypes and the wrong portrayal of Muslim characters.

• Part of me finds it hard to believe that this is the book that a lot of people were raving about years ago when it first came out. Same with the movie (which I won’t be watching now). It felt so mundane and predictable and not unique. If I hadn’t written my thoughts on the book as I was reading it, I wouldn’t have been able to write a review because I honestly remember nothing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Racism, War, and Xenophobia

redisreading's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Violence, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Addiction, Child death, Blood, Kidnapping, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape, Abortion, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

lea_liest's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Murder, Blood, and Infertility

Moderate: Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

m0usey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

A very sad and tense read. It was very hard to put down once I got into it, and the plot twist was really good (if a little predictable).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Vomit, Addiction, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Grief, Infertility, and Mental illness

linareadsdayum's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Murder, Addiction, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Vomit, Terminal illness, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Rape, and Pregnancy

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Grief, Child death, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Mental illness

Minor: Excrement, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Infertility, Confinement, Death of parent, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Car accident, Blood, and Abortion

s__'s review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

1.75

The way people talk about this book, you'd think it was the epitome of a crime-thriller. 

1. The only salvageable thing about this book is the explanation given for Rachel's
   memory loss
   . That was brilliant, but it wasn't enough to make up for the rest of the book being boring.
2. The characters in this were extremely unlikable, which is saying something, since I typically don't care about the "likability" of characters. How can you write a book in which your main character is that unlikable?! No, I didn't find her unlikable because of her
   alcohol addiction
   . She was unlikable because she was
   a stalker who kept groveling to her cheating ex
   (Yes, I would have said the same thing if she weren't a woman). How can you make your main character stupid, pathetic, obsessive, and lack self-respect????? I kept waiting for a character arc and it didn't come until the very last page of the book (if you even want to call it that!). The only true character arc was given to Megan/Jess. 
3. The book is written in a convoluted irritating way. I don't have a problem with the different POV's, but why do the chapters have to be divided based on the time of day as well?! You are not doing a good job telling a story if you have to rely on telling the reader what time of day it is even after giving them other details.
4. The book was littered with details that weren't important (No, they didn't help build the atmosphere). Most of the book just felt repetitive and as if the author is just trying to increase their word count.
5. You'll easily figure out the culprit before the halfway mark if you frequently read mysteries. The book lacks all the "thrill" of a thriller (which is especially important if your culprit is predictable), and there's no real shocking, big twist that makes it worth reading through all those pages.
6. I didn't appreciate the negative attitude the book had towards stay-at-home wives and moms.
7. I'm bored of thrillers having the most overdone motive and culprit, or at least do it in a clever and creative way. If you're looking for a thematically similar book, I'd suggest The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. It might not be a 5-star read (at least for me), but it's much more clever in the way it reveals the culprit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Child death, Alcoholism, Addiction, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Stalking, Murder, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexual content, and Physical abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Death of parent, Infertility, Vomit, Excrement, Pregnancy, and Racism

scruffie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I actually enjoyed reading this book. I've seen people compare it to Gone Girl but I haven't read that one so I can't say anything about that debate. Two things bothered me the most: (a) all women in the book seem to be defined by the men in their lives and/or their feelings towards motherhood, and (b) the end was somewhat out of character, given what you've learnt about the characters throughout the book. I liked the plot overall though, but then again I have very little experience with the crime/thriller genre so I don't know how novel it really is. (3.75/5.00)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement and Vomit

Minor: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Abandonment, and Animal cruelty

philippaoderso's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body shaming, Death, Murder, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Addiction, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Blood, Drug abuse, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Abortion