Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Ohio by Stephen Markley

2 reviews

danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

What a book. Through the lens of a group of disaffected 20 somethings who came of age during the early aughts, this book is an unflinching indictment of toxic masculinity and how it exerts its force on the personal and the global. This book follows a group of old high school friends crashing back together on one fateful and devastating night, and examines the ways that we all try to create stories out of memory, and the consequences that lay within. An incandescent debut novel from Stephen Markley.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexism, Religious bigotry, War, Xenophobia, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Classism, Death, Grief, Islamophobia, Murder, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Addiction, and Violence

bookhoarder2022's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

2.0

I went into this book with high hopes & a friend’s recommendation. 

It took me 6 months to read it, because I just couldn’t get GOING. 

Once I finally made progress, my average expression was a grimace: there are so so so many fatphobic descriptions I could barely blink without some other mention about how someone was less attractive than high school with weigh gain playing a part every time. 

Speaking  of attraction, there is so much longing in this book for HS lovers the now almost-30-year-old main characters want to get back to & HS sexcapades that honestly just feel gross to me, reading as a just-turned-30 myself & thinking about my HS self. It’s weird. 

Overall, there’s a strange way that HS seems to possess the minds and hearts of these characters in a way that just disturbed me. 

2 stars for excellent characters (even though I found them miserable) & some interesting plot decisions. Would not read again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Addiction, Misogyny, Self harm, War, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Islamophobia, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Xenophobia, Drug use, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Rape, Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, and Racial slurs

Minor: Infertility, Abortion, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts