Reviews tagging 'Grief'

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

123 reviews

martha_is_reading's review

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Death

Moderate: Physical abuse and Trafficking

Minor: Pregnancy, Rape, Slavery, and Sexual violence

brianvirgil's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Grief, Child death, Genocide, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Rape

cait_mccarron's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Child death, Slavery, Sexual assault, Grief, Death, Murder, and Violence

david_brent's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I was NOT expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I assumed (something that I should never do) after reading Song of Achilles and Circe that this was a hanger-on, following a fashionable trend of novels taking place in ancient times, so my expectations were not high. I could not have been more wrong. 

This book is GREAT. The women in the ancient Greek stories are given short shrift, and in this work, Natalie Haynes brings them front and center in a series of short narratives and tells their stories from any and all perspectives: winner, loser, god, mortal. She plays on every emotion: the fickleness and fragile ego of the gods, the humiliation of defeat, sorrow and mourning, celebration and triumph. There's even comedy relief in the form of Penelope's sarcastic and mocking frustration with the ridiculous extended adventures of her "heroic" husband Odysseus. I remember reading The Odyssey in high school. Oh, what hero Homer made him out to be. Under closer scrutiny, Penelope makes him sound like a bit of an asshole, and it's hilarious. The audiobook, narrated by the author, perfectly captures the emotional tone of each tale. 

This was one of those books where I wish it didn't end. 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Infidelity, Death, Sexual assault, Slavery, War, Kidnapping, and Grief

lauramcc7's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Blood, Grief, Rape, Slavery, Physical abuse, Murder, Death, Child death, Violence, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

tieflingmom's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual harassment, Grief, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Colonisation, Rape, Toxic relationship, War, Genocide, Abandonment, and Sexual assault

awebofstories's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, Murder, Blood, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Violence, Death, Kidnapping, Torture, Genocide, War, Rape, Slavery, Grief, and Suicide

booklifeisthelife's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad slow-paced

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

3.5

So. This was my first book by this author but also my first Greek mythology book. I'm not familiar with it at all really. So to say it was a little confusing would be an understatement xD. I noticed some inconsistencies throughout that bothered me as well. Still enjoyed the book. 3.5 stars.  I loved each character, felt for each. Was very sad and heartbreaking but I still liked how their story was told. I like the perspective of the women and hearing their voices. Each one was so brave in their own way..I would have liked to get to know each more though. For the ones who didn't die. We never got to know how uhm..the one who married Achilles cousin and the girl the priests son friended, we never got to know how she fared.. Because of my lack of knowledge of Greek mythology and my general horrible memory, I can't say names for many but each character resonated with me in some way. All the female ones I mean. Though Hecabe was a little off putting but she had lost so many peopleand the way she behaved made sense I suppose. I would have also liked to have gotten more of the gods perspectives because that was a bit confusing but that could be due to my lack of knowledge, again. I think I would have enjoyed this book much more if I was more familiar with the mythology. Maybe in a few years if I know more I'll re-read this and appreciate it more

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death

Moderate: Violence, Child death, Physical abuse, Death of parent, War, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Murder, and Sexual harassment

annakh16's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Misogyny, Slavery, and War

Minor: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Cannibalism

margaret_k30's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Gore, Sexism, Misogyny, Death, Suicide, Slavery, Violence, War, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Rape, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Blood, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Vomit, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail