Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell

8 reviews

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Sexism, Police brutality, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Lesbophobia, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Excrement, Drug use, Deportation, Death, Death of parent, Cursing, Classism, Child death, Biphobia, Ableism, Xenophobia, Racism, War, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Chronic illness, Antisemitism, Sexual content, Rape, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Child abuse, Body horror, Blood, Sexual assault, Murder, Medical content, and Gore

Excellent book, but do not read if you’re in a bad headspace. Extremely open and frank about WWII atrocities in France, including critiques of the approach/strategy of Allied forces. It’s very jarring in the last chapter to have a pointedly neutral tone re: CIA & US military activity in the Middle East in more recent years, after no-punches-pulled attitude to all western powers including the US during WWII itself. This inconsistency is the only thing that prevented me from giving it 5 stars.

oceanwriter's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

Being a woman in the early 20th century was no picnic, especially when it came to getting a job. Add a disability to the mix and getting someone to hire you was near impossible. Virginia Hall broke down barriers and excelled over her able-bodied male counterparts. At the start of World War II, Virginia was hired as a spy and was deployed to France. As the war carried on, Virginia (under a number of aliases) became a touchstone for people under occupation and fellow resistance workers.

The more her reputation grew, the more the Nazis wanted her captured. Despite several warnings and close calls, Virginia was reluctant to leave her post in France where so many people had come to rely on her. When staying was no longer an option, she continued to prove her strength both mentally and physically — achieving things that most people without a prosthetic leg couldn't. She continued to do what she could for the war effort no matter where she had to go.

There seems to be no end to the fascinating figures of WWII. Virginia Hall is now among my favorites. The book flowed wonderfully. Nothing dragged and there was always something interesting going on. I appreciated that it went in a linear timeline. I've noticed a lot of non-fiction books like to jump around even if it's following a chain of events. A must-read for WWII buffs.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and War

Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, and Genocide

Minor: Drug use, Rape, and Racism

dukeofkel's review

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Violence, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Antisemitism, Confinement, Death, Torture, Deportation, Drug use, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault

breadwitchery's review

informative slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Violence, and Genocide

Moderate: Racism, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Ableism, Mental illness, Medical content, and Torture

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Racial slurs

laurenvdb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Police brutality, Rape, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Torture, and Genocide

srm's review

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

This story is utterly fascinating. I get that a lot about Virginia Hall has been classified for a long time, but how is everyone not talking about the 35 year-old female American amputee who was one of the most important spies of WWII? She's amazing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Sexism

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and War

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, and Genocide

eire2011's review

adventurous dark informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

 Virginia Hall was a young woman determined to have adventures, not be stuck at the same secretarial job indefinitely and paved the way for so many women along with being a big help to winning WWII.

I very much enjoyed this story and am so glad that her achievements have been brought to light so that she can get the recognition she deserves!

Trigger warnings: war, death of a parent, torture, concentration camps, imprisonment, ptsd, war wounds, hunting accident resulting in loss of a limb, discrimination 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Torture, Death, and Drug use

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Genocide

maneatingbadger's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

Important content, dull writing. The book badly needed an editor, and Virginia Hall's career deserves a far more in-depth treatment, especially concerning her operations and tactics.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, and Torture

Minor: Drug use