Reviews tagging 'Rape'

A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome by Emma Southon

20 reviews

normal_borlaug's review

dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death

Moderate: Rape

nassuada's review

dark emotional funny informative sad slow-paced

4.5

A really interesting read, particularly when the author covers how the life of women, enslaved people, and children were regarded in Rome. Her writing style really elevates the content and it reminded me of a true crime podcast (but one of the good ones where they actually respect the lives of the victims and don't just use them for entertainment value). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Misogyny, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Classism, Death of parent, Slavery, Animal cruelty, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: War, Rape, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicide, Child abuse, and Abortion

simixfe's review

dark emotional funny informative medium-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Death, Blood, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Death of parent, Child death, Torture, and Slavery

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death, Antisemitism, and Animal cruelty

crlpedigo's review

dark funny informative medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism, Murder, Rape, and Violence

shelfofunread's review against another edition

dark funny informative fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Suicide, and Murder

anneshamitha's review

adventurous dark informative medium-paced

4.75

I really liked this book. I love how it grounded Rome in the slave state that it was, and never lost sight of that. I also appreciated how she walked us through her sources, including those that conflict, instead of presenting a singular narrative as fact. Unfortunately, she tries way too hard to be cool. This almost turned me off entirely, but because the actual substance of the book was so good it kind of felt like rolling your eyes at a professor who tries to be too hip, but that you like anyway because you’re actually learning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Rape, War, Violence, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Classism, and Child death

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Genocide

j_squaredd's review against another edition

dark funny informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Rape, Murder, and Slavery

vicious's review

dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

I was super excited for this book having read and thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Southon's Agrippina book a few months ago, and I was not disappointed. Southon writes as if she were sitting across from you in a bar, telling you about Roman history over a few beers and some greasy fries. Her writing is engaging, fun, and interesting. I've never been one for Roman history, but she ignites an interest inside of me purely because she makes learning about it so fun.

This book is about the complicated definition of murder from a Roman standpoint, comparing it to a modern viewpoint to realistically put into perspective just how different today's world culture is from that of ancient Rome. It's very fascinating. If you're into true crime and/or Roman history, you will love it. If you, like me, are not into either, you may still take a liking to it as I have. If only all history books were written in such a fun and engaging manner maybe more people would be interested in history as a whole.

There are some hefty trigger warnings to take into account with this book as it does detail some brutal and gory deaths. Also, definitely keep a placeholder on the footnotes; they can be a joy to read and often provide additional information.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Suicide attempt, Violence, Slavery, and Suicide

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Torture, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Incest, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, and Pedophilia

arachan's review

dark informative sad slow-paced

4.75

This is not the book I expected. It's not really about famous murders, the way a true crime book would be.  It's about how 'murder' as a concept did not exist in Ancient Rome and what we can learn about the culture by seeing how they reacted to violent death.  It's refreshing, particularly the brutal reality of slavery and what the Romans thought (or didn't) think about violence against them.  Compared to the typical Roman history, written by authors who aren't willing to challenge the privilege of their sources, it's almost shocking to see a historian bluntly call them out as monsters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexism

christinecc's review against another edition

dark funny informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

Are you looking for a window to the past, complete with murder, drama, and enormous amounts of humor? This is that book. Get this book.

Full disclaimer: I've never studied anything about Roman history. All I know comes from reading the "Asterix" comic book series and, sure, the occasional Tumblr call-out post about Cicero. Apparently he is problematic. I did not understand why.

But now I do! And more than that, I could not stop reading Emma Southon's clear-as-crystal takes on Senate fights, be they petty or fatal (and sometimes both). 

Southon starts strong with the Head Honcho himself, Julius Caesar and the men who paved the way to his murder. Along the way, she dispels dozens of misconceptions spread by pop culture. Luckily, she replaces the falsities with equally entertaining truths. After the Senate, Southon goes "full history" but never drops the charm. She lays out murder in all kinds of other areas of Roman society: law, family, magic, slavery, royalty, and (of course) more politics and coups, because who are we kidding? This is Rome! The murder never stops.

I especially loved how Southon doesn't actually have to hype the contents. It sounds exciting (because it is), but Southon never forgets the concrete horrors and banalities associated with murder in Ancient Rome. She doesn't shy away from discussing the legwork involved in history (and what might have skewed the objectivity of historians we rely on... like Cicero!), and she also spends time discussing the things often left out, i.e. the regular people living with these various laws, murders, and way too frequent political upheavals (plus the occasional festival with nude senators... look, you need the context for that so please read this book, I'm not going to do it justice).

Highly recommended to anyone who's never touched Roman history in their life and is just looking for a way to get their foot in the door while also having fun. It's edutainment! Very well-researched edutainment. 

Thank you to Netgalley, Abrams Books, and the author for granting me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Murder and Rape