Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Il suo corpo e altre feste by Carmen Maria Machado

180 reviews

hippiequeen's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I think the reading is worth for the “Especially Heinous” short story, which is the one that impressed me the most, especially for the choice of narrating through episodes summaries of a tv show. That story was brilliant, but unfortunately I found the rest of them quite boring. Maybe it’s because I am not that into fantasy / dystopia books, but I did love her memoir and her writing style is always good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Rape, Violence, Vomit, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

dearbhlanoonan's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Violence

mirireads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Rape, Sexual content, and Murder

serenspace's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.25

womanhood is a horror story. that is the central theme of this collection of short stories, molding the literal from the metaphorical. it is violent in its truths about the woman and her choices, her experiences as they differ from her counterparts. each tale is tragic as we know our lives can be. there is no escape, we feel. only forward through the muddy waters.

the first story in this book tells the uncomfortable story of a woman and her husband becoming acquainted, and the overwhelming sense I got from this story was that of loss. the narrator details her encounters with her husband, such as her first time and her entire motherhood until her untimely death. machado easily portrays the sense of loss that women must endure as they mature. while her husband gets all he desires, all he needs, the narrator sacrifices greater and grander parts of herself until her life is all she has left to give. and he takes it. this absence recurs throughout the collection of stories, and it reflects something inside of me that scares me. are we the women, the feminine, the unmasculine, defined by what we do not have or no longer claim as our own?

so the book continues into the lives of many women, many victims and many incidents so easily avoided if not for the culpability of cruel men. the women in these stories live rich lives that bleed empty through their living and telling. every history is drenched in misery and misfortune, no successes or victories to be found amongst them. like life itself, womanhood itself, each character’s story ends unresolved.

though the dampened mood of the stories forces one to read them in a miserable mindset, the writing style is superbly controlled to portray such a variety of sad emotions that serve to further the stories through feeling alone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual content

cheyanndow's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Rape

otherworlds's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

An absolutely gorgeous, haunting, and sensual collection of stories giving form to the innerworlds of queer women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, and Sexual content

Moderate: Body shaming, Rape, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Pregnancy

emilymbrown's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Absolutely jarring. Not what I was expecting at all but I fell so attached the moment I read the first page. Beautiful and scary and confusing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

marleyshaddox's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

Whew this was a doozy! A short story collection where the writing is so engaging and well done that I kept reading even when the content made me so so so  uncomfortable. A truly unsettling read, a collection of horror stories from the fantastical to the everyday horrors women face in a patriarchal society. Heavy subjects, dark humor, bizarre and intriguing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape and Murder

ms_sarah621's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape

em2lyy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Rape and Toxic relationship