Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Il libro dei desideri by Sue Monk Kidd

12 reviews

cassiecarola's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Minor: Infertility

shando's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This was a well-paced story of women whose lives were, in various ways, connected to Jesus Christ as a historic being. The character development is most robust for the women in the story and the author allows historically relevant details to shine. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Miscarriage

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Sexual harassment

dizzyizzyy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death, Suicide, and Abortion

saracatalyst's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I really loved this book! Kidd does a great job of creating a very human character for Jesus and writing a story that feels fresh and unburdened so close to perhaps the most well known story of all time. 

Having grown up attending a Methodist church, I was amazed and delighted with the way Kidd’s portrayal of events with which I’m perhaps *over* familiar felt new due to a realness the retellings have never possessed. 

Aside from the obvious and overarching tie to Christianity, the story bears merit on its own. Kidd’s extensive research shines through as a solid foundation for the story she creates. The themes of women’s roles in society, religion, culture, and the home carry enough weight that Jesus’s relevance in the story doesn’t completely overwhelm every other aspect. I loved Ana, her many companions, and the unique relationships she had with each of them. 

This book is great so criticism feels weird. But at the same time… some of the characters felt a little too convenient to feel totally real. Ana felt like a pretty clear distillation of the author’s view of herself. The complexity for Jesus’s character at times felt like answering what’s your greatest weakness with “I care too much and work too hard.” I felt myself wanting more at times, like the plot was being rushed along through dialogue but I understand that the point was to keep things from Ana’s perspective and she couldn’t be present for every relevant event in the story. The last thing I felt like I wanted was a more three dimensional representation of the society. It felt like as soon as we zoomed out any amount from intimate family interactions, society was just a villain and a bad place to be. Perhaps this is just the way things were, but seems more likely there might have been moments of happiness and beauty that the people would be able to find. 

If you’ve read this book and have thoughts, please talk to me!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Torture, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Misogyny, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Classism

ckrampy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

maddiebusick's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Slavery, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Deportation

jrosegross's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

lokilledrome's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Classism

maddieandthemoon's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual harassment

mermaidadjacent's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

I read this book as a teenager and loved it. I was a bit nervous to re-read it because my tastes have changed quite a bit, as has my religion-I'm converting to Judaism. I definitely did find a lot of odd and even anti-semitic inaccuracies scattered throughout the first 139 pages of this book, but none of them were bad enough to make me stop. What made me stop was so egregious I have absolutely no idea how I missed it on the first read.

This author has, for whatever mysterious unhinged reason, decided to depict Jesus as a fucking pedophile. Ana, the protagonist, is 15 when they marry. Since Jesus's age was left ambiguous, I read on for a bit, assuming that he might have been a bit older than her but surely not more than a couple of years. I was wrong. It's not long before Jesus's age is confirmed - he's at least 21.

I don't particularly care that the legal age of marriage in Rome was 12. We all know that shit is sick. Why someone would want to imply that marriage between a 15 year old and a 21 year old is not only acceptable but so freaking acceptable that they'll write about the founder of their religion doing it is incomprehensible to me.

Also, there is explicit sexual harassment and abuse of Ana by Herod in the preceding chapters. I thought their inclusion was strange despite the time period and general theme of rape culture in the book and I should've listened to that instinct. No way could this author have written a sincere and meaningful condemnation of rape culture while explicitly condoning and celebrating child marriage & rape.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Antisemitism