Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

37 reviews

aargot1's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Slavery, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, War, Death, Confinement, Colonisation, and Rape

unfiltered_fiction's review against another edition

challenging dark informative slow-paced

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

2.75

I read The Shadow King for my work book club, and it provoked such an interesting and varied discussion - definitely one I'd recommend for a group read! 

I have mixed feelings about this book myself - there were elements of it that were phenomenal, and aspects that felt quite underdeveloped.

I found several of the structural and stylistic elements a little frustrating. A lack of quote marks and use of first person present tense, two of my pet hates in literature, made it difficult for me to properly lose myself in the story. The story is also presented in a highly stylised way, with interludes and choruses, with references in both style and content to Homer's Iliad. I really applaud Mengiste's aim of writing back to the male, Western and white dominated tradition of epic, but I found these framing techniques emotionally distancing and a little forced.

One of the key things I found frustrating was how little agency women maintained throughout the story. In her author's note, Mengiste says that "The story of war had always been a masculine story, but this was not true for Ethiopia and it has never been that way in any form of struggle. Women have been there, we are here now." Whilst she's absolutely right, this book really didn't feel to me like it put women right at the centre of the story.

However, the writing is stunning. It is philosophically rich, immaculately researched, and a distinctly valuable resistance to Western-centred narratives of conflict. It's an especially important text because Mengiste reminds the reader of the very, very recent brutality inflicted on people and nations of colour by European regimes; I have spent years in classrooms learning about the World Wars and their historical, but I did not know a thing about Mussolini's campaigns on Ethiopia.

It's a very important story, but overall, I wasn't a huge fan of how it was told. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Torture, War, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Genocide, and Colonisation

ncdess1398's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Genocide, and Sexual violence

I had no knowledge of this time period in history and Mengiste crafted this story with such immense care and painful honesty. Beautifully written and incredibly sad.

beccasealy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

avisreadsandreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Rape, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Antisemitism

hardcoverhearts's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Grief, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, and Forced institutionalization

daisymaytwizell's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective 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

4.0

I listened to the audiobook of this, and while that helped me as a white person learn how to pronounce the names/places, I do think that with all the shifts in time and perspective it would be a much easier read with a physical copy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Body horror

Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Antisemitism

Minor: Sexual violence

Mengiste has a fantastic balance between communicating the horrors of war, without making the descriptions gratuitous.

lucyreading's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

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

Its very violent.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Racism, Gun violence, Genocide, and Death

natalieabigail's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, Murder, Gun violence, Violence, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Antisemitism

sarrasegway's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Antisemitism, Child death, Confinement, Excrement, and Gun violence