Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison

21 reviews

scoobygirl93's review

I was looking forward to reading this and I wanted to love it. It's just spending so much time in the time period of immediately post event, and I'm bored, I'm more interested in the this is how the world is now time period.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Infertility, Blood, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Miscarriage, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, Rape, and Medical trauma

katrinarose's review

dark reflective tense 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

4.0

Extremely bleak and tough read but I could not put it down. I loved the character of the unnamed midwife and the how well the author also developed even minor characters as they appeared. I also like the alternating style of her journal and omnipresent narrative. I was taken aback at first when we learned about characters and events that the midwife did not know about but it was satisfying (although sad). I like that the author didn’t shy away from the brutal realities of this post-apocalyptic world, and didn’t sugarcoat her view of human nature, as depressing as it was. This book is definitely not for everyone (between the triggering content, narrative style, and somewhat bare plot) but I really liked it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Blood, Cursing, Death, Medical content, Pedophilia, Rape, Murder, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Homophobia, Infertility, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Trafficking, and Sexual content

Moderate: Abortion, Grief, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

polo's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? No

4.25

Very entertaining. I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but it had an interesting main character and I enjoyed the historical perspective, along with the way many stories criss-crossed into one another. 
PLEASE read the content warnings on this one before you start. Not kidding.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Blood

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Torture, and Suicide

hngisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Murder, Slavery, Grief, Miscarriage, Medical content, Rape, Blood, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Suicide, Gun violence, Death, Physical abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Violence, Pedophilia, and Trafficking

kat1105's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Self harm, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Vomit

larbster90's review

challenging dark sad fast-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? No

4.5

Incredible book, very compelling couldn't stop reading it. Definitely increased my anxiety, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Child death, Infidelity, Body horror, Murder, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Drug use, Infertility, Sexism, Trafficking, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Child abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Adult/minor relationship

annamolpus's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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? No

5.0

Apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic fiction is not for everyone, but it's definitely a genre I return to repeatedly.  I think I'm just fascinated by what kinds of societal structures people might create if the existing ones collapsed abruptly.  The Book of the Unnamed Midwife definitely explores that question as it envisions a post-pandemic America where 95% of men and 99% of women and children are killed by a virus.  The scarcity of women leads to some very disturbing male behavior so this is not for the faint of heart.  But the story is centered around a strong female protagonist and ends on a hopeful note.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Blood, Death, and Misogyny

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Sexual assault

batcaves's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Trafficking

horizonous's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, and Trafficking

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Homophobia, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness

◦ Medical trauma = Genital mutilation

accovino's review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

This was A LOT to read during a pandemic. The idea that no one is coming to save you, we save each other or we kill each other, is so hard to read. The work of building society over again, of trusting when there is no reason to trust, of working for a future you'll never see even if you succeed… Yeah I'm having a lot of feelings about it right now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Infertility, Physical abuse, Rape, and Trafficking

Minor: Abortion, Vomit, and Suicide