Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes

11 reviews

ozmarie's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Miscarriage, Child death, Death, Self harm, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Pregnancy

mimi_jaja's review against another edition

dark mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt

mpeach's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Incest, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy

meg_elyse's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Self harm, Death, Grief, Incest, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Sexism

frankieclc's review against another edition

4.5

you hear about greek myths and all the horrible things that happened and the shock value is so far removed at this point that we just brush them off but natalie haynes always manages to bring the stories so incredibly to life that the horror is absorbed so much more

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Violence, Death, and Incest

bookstorian's review against another edition

4.5

In my excitement to read 'Stone Blind' (Natalie Haynes' soon to be released book) I had forgotten that I had still not read 'The Children of Jocasta', I picked it up ready to step back into the world of Ancient Greece, what I didn't realise was that my visit would only last two days! For a historical fiction read - it was nothing short of engrossing. 

Told from the perspective of Jocasta and her daughter Ismene this work weaves together the well known story of Oedipus and the tragedy that befalls their family - death, death and more death. 

Plot: What I loved most about this story was how it shifted my understanding of the myth and what happened - it gave it colour and texture. It wasn't the predictable story that I expected and instead was told from the women who are the most silenced within the myth and invited me to consider other possibilities to the tragic events- ones that weren't reliant on the Chinese Whispers of an oracle. Even though the book was published in 2018, there were strong pandemic vibes - I love how works such as this remind us that plague and disease on a massive scale is not a new experience of humanity. 

Characters: Obviously I'm here for not one but TWO female protagonists. I think the real tragic hero for me wasn't Oedipus, it was actually Creon, usually painted as the villain, he was so different between the narration of Jocasta and Ismene given that he was ravaged by greed and grief later in life, poor fella. The gender bending of Teiresias as a female house keeper and the inclusion of Sophon (a tribute to Sophocles) was also a delight! 

Writing style: I furiously underlined many quotes throughout - I adore Haynes' writing. So much so I was even captivated by the author's notes at the end to the very last word (something I usually skim over). 

The ending: Different than I expected, I did question moments of it and I'm actually not sure what happened to Haemon.. I know what was meant to happen to him but not sure what became of him in this version of events... 

Needless to say I am SO EXCITED for the release of 'Stone Blind' and am eagerly awaiting to see what Haynes does with the myth of Medusa! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Death

excritos's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual violence

natalieabigail's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Child death

nicoles_reading_corner's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Incest, Pregnancy, and Grief

emmyblackett's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Minor: Incest