Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

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

8 reviews

kwthor's review against another edition

dark funny reflective medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Murder, Cursing, Sexual violence, Gore, Child abuse, Animal death, Trafficking, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Colonisation, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Animal cruelty

danimacuk's review against another edition

dark funny informative slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Rape, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Child death, and Physical abuse

Minor: Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia

another_dahlia's review

dark funny informative medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Sexism, Murder, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Rape, Domestic abuse, Racism, Slavery, War, Animal cruelty, and Classism

gringolet's review

dark funny informative fast-paced

4.5

An incredibly fascinating, well researched and thoughtful book; I would like to give it five stars but for the fact that, while I overall enjoyed the casual and witty tone, the narration sometimes went overboard to the detriment of the book. It felt at times like the book was apologizing for being itself, and felt the need to say "this information is boring, this topic is dull, here have a pop culture reference which will painfully age this otherwise excellent book". I found the information interesting, and I think a lot of people do, as evidenced by the success of the book, and I do wish it would have more faith in it's readers. That being said, I still wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject, especially for how it dealt with slavery in ancient Rome. I can easily see (and in fact, have read) lesser books which are unwilling or unable to fully acknowledge the unbearable and overwhelming ugliness of it, to the extent of revisionism and apologetics. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Rape, Sexism, Death, Blood, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Colonisation, Slavery, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Murder, and War

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

ashhearddwrites's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Murder, Child death, Death of parent, Violence, and Death

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