Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg

10 reviews

rhiannonhoward's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Rape, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Classism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Racism

oh_bother's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

I have so many feelings about this book. Gratitude, sadness, reverence, rage, guilt. Mostly gratitude, to Leslie for writing this beautiful story that so mirrored her life, and to all of the queer and trans people who came before me and fought so hard for the things I tend to take for granted in my sweet little queer bubble.
 I was surprised by how tender this story was. I was expecting more rage and sorrow, maybe. But Jess is such a beautifully complex and lovable character. I just wanted everything to turn out ok for her. Every time she was happy the world stepped in and gave her more pain. Her growth and strength are inspiring to me. And I’m so glad the ending was hope and light. That is what I am walking away with. Hope and love and light. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Homophobia, Violence, Racism, Transphobia, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Sexism, Outing, Murder, Misogyny, and Hate crime

Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Classism, Deadnaming, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Minor: Suicide

vidoc's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Vomit, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Bullying, Deadnaming, Torture, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Antisemitism, Forced institutionalization, and Outing

verilyk_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

“so real it bleeds”, indeed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Confinement, Blood, and Alcohol

bearystarry's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Fuck capitalism, fuck white supremacy, fuck the police. Incredibly rewarding read, even if it’s excruciatingly painful sometimes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Outing, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Medical trauma, Excrement, Bullying, Body shaming, Antisemitism, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Death, Sexism, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Racism, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Homophobia, Cursing, Child abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Genocide, and War

independent_wombat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Police brutality, Violence, Transphobia, Torture, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Racism and Dysphoria

gayelfboi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Look at tge trigger warnings

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Drug use, Vomit, Torture, Lesbophobia, Grief, Transphobia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Alcohol, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Outing, Murder, Deadnaming, Bullying, Body shaming, Blood, Antisemitism, Suicide, Excrement, Cursing, Confinement, Classism, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Death, and Child abuse

Minor: Islamophobia and War

duskbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

an exploration of gender through a semi-fictional autobiography, a must-read for understanding queer history and the current instance of gender variance

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Torture, Rape, Police brutality, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Racism and Racial slurs

celestriakle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I see why this book is considered a foundational queer text. It covers such a length of time, and it's fascinating to have that glimpse into the past and over the decades. It really does resonate even in 2023; so many of the struggles we had then are recurring again, and it's fascinating to see how the conversations played out both then and now. It did succeed in its main mission, getting me to think about gender and expression and all such things. Even when I wasn't reading, I found myself reconsidering my own gender and considering the experiences and variety we see. Not to mention, the prose is beautiful. I had so many passages highlighted of beautiful description that underscored the mood of the moment.

That said, it's not a perfect book. There are a LOT of side characters, and for me they blended together. All the butches sounded and acted very similar, so did all the femmes. The archetypes make a big splash of strong characterization the first time, but then it loses some power when you see all the characters acting similarly. That said, there are still a couple stand-outs, so it's not all bad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Hate crime, Dysphoria, Antisemitism, Racial slurs, Classism, Bullying, Blood, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Police brutality, Outing, Deadnaming, Confinement, Transphobia, Torture, Sexual harassment, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Homophobia, Grief, Forced institutionalization, and Cursing

Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism

Minor: Suicide and Adult/minor relationship

tinyjude's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

I dont think I will ever be able to articulate my thoughts regarding this book. It's so complex, so close to my heart, such an important piece of history and also so flawed and raw... it is not an easy read, it pulls your strings and makes you sob harder each time. Whenever you think there is a moment of peace more violence appears, showing how there was and there is still so many cruelty, pain and things to learn and change. The language sometimes is outdated and the struggles the characters go through are hard, but it serves as a reminder for the newer generations: to cherish, to celebrate, to pay homage, to open our minds and hearts, to keep fighting for changes, to value our voices, to support each other and never forget.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Transphobia, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Outing, Racism, Suicide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Hate crime, and Lesbophobia