Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Milkman by Anna Burns

12 reviews

brenncocoa's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Stalking, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Abortion

rory_john14's review

dark funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-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: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Mass/school shootings

immi_rae's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Misogyny, Violence, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

chanatova's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Very oddly written book without much of a plot. Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about it. There were lots of run on sentences and the plot wasn’t necessarily discernible. I’m still not sure what just happened. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Police brutality

Minor: Homophobia

josettet's review against another edition

challenging funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Hate crime, Rape, and Mass/school shootings

notthatcosta's review

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense slow-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? No

2.75

I find this one tough to review because there were aspects that I absolutely loved (the world building and the social commentary around the Troubles). However, I found the writing style almost unbearable at points (the stream of consciousness prose, the long-winded way of addressing characters, the timeline jumps).

The bottom line is that I didn't really like a single character in the book, and even the protagonist made some infuriating decisions at points and overall my feeling was 'this place is not for you, you are above these people and you need to get the hell out of there' - which although a simplification, seemed preferable to sticking around in such a place. Also, her mum was a total arsehole and I don't know if I was supposed to like her, but I certainly didn't. 

Overall, I'm glad I read it, and I feel like most of the aspects I took issue with were at least strong intentional stylistic choices made by the author, and I can always respect a big swing.

Oh and ALSO, the random 11th hour gay subplot was egregious. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

just_jess02's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

1.5

This book feels like a repetitive, overly wordy stream of consciousness. It’s like being in a conversation that you can’t get out of and can’t get a word in. The text is quick moving and dense but the plot is soooooo slow. The 348 pages could easily have been about 100 and been a more impactful/interesting story. The last 1/4 of the book was much better but not worth the journey to get there. How can this be so dense yet so empty? There’s just not enough meat here other than some general themes. 

On the other hand, Anna did a great job of making the reader understand the existence of middle sister. I felt the anxiety, the fear, the connections, the paranoid state of the community, etc. Maybe she just did too good of a job with the feelings of time passing, the long/drawn out thoughts of every moment, the mundane nature of every day life. When I got to the end I felt like a deserved a big payoff for making it through… but it sort of just fizzled out in a “life goes on” idea. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

lennie_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual assault

jmbz38's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

ollie_again's review

challenging dark tense slow-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

4.0

 

So that was that. That was me told. And no longer was I a vile old spinster refusing to get married, but now most definitely an unconnected, unbonded loose woman, but her words, insulting and disdaining, came not from her daughter's ill-working of creative raw material, but from her own ill-working of creative raw material; relaying to me too, the latest rumour of me and the milkman whilst managing to perpetuate it on at the same time. As with the milkman -as with all of them - here again was someone who knew the answers so wasn't asking questions, wasn't interested either, in how I might respond.

This was exhausting to read, to finish but despite the stream of consciousness that is not my cup of tea usually, I was sucked in. Infuriated. Angry. Confused. But also more and more paranoid. The tale of gossip, lies and, constant gaslighting from every corner; the disinterest and unlogical acts of the main character. Her trying to get out of the web of spun yarn, fake yarn, yarn that pulled her deeper and deeper into all of the wrongdoings she has supposedly done and does them still. At some point, you doubt everyone and try to see if they are also telling untruths; if they are the danger on the page. Milkman gets into your head and won't leave until the very last page. And maybe he'll stay with you even longer.

Exhausting to get through, but brilliant at the same time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Vomit, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, and Suicide