Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Spare by Prince Harry

37 reviews

graceybookster's review

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

2.5

2.5 stars read via 🎧Audiobook🎧

Ok so I went through a rollercoaster of a ride with this book. To begin with I was drawn in and found it heart wrenching hearing about the boys growing up and how the death of Diana affected them, hearing it from his perspective. It was clear Harry was traumatised and had PTSD from this long before the army. It broke my heart. 

Then I was VERY bored through at least a third of the book because it was extremely Army heavy which is not something I relate to or am particularly interested in. I understand however that The Army was a huge part of Prince Harry’s life and a passion of his, but I felt this went on for much too long, giving us endless step by step commentaries on his tasks and procedures there. Probably great for army-minded people but not for me at all. I also did not like the talk of how many people he’d had to kill during his time there, describing them as ‘the baddies’ or ‘pawns’….BUT I can imagine he has been very conditioned to thinking this way with his upbringing and training so I guess I couldn’t really blame him either for these thoughts. I don’t agree with it, but I could see why he’d think this way.

I was then drawn back in after he left the army, with him openly speaking about his depression and anxiety. I commend him for that and more people should speak about it! I was then hooked until the end going through his journey of meeting Megan etc.

I know this book and his actions have caused a lot of controversy which has divided people, as some people strongly disagree with what him and Meg have done in regards to interviews and this book, but how else can they get their side heard if they’ve constantly been railroaded into silence and made to look like the bad guys? I do believe there are two sides to a story and have no doubt that ALOT of stuff has gone on behind closed doors we know nothing about and I wholeheartedly believe that there is a particular biased narrative that’s spun by the establishment and press to make certain family members look good and others look bad. The monarchy have been controlled for years, and perhaps his side of the story is something that NEEDS to come out  to break the cycle. Diana was berated and made out to be crazy when she was in fact telling the truth and desperate for help. She was a truth teller and people naturally HATE when truth is spoken against the grain, against the corruption and higher order! Well, I’m sorry but Prince Harry has a right to speak about what’s happened to him and Megan. He has a right to share his side. Him and Megan and his CHILDREN are HUMAN BEINGS. 

The press, paparazzi and media are honestly the most disgusting and vile cretins on this earth. Look how it ended for Diana. KILLED FOR A STORY AND A PICTURE. Making a buck out of peoples misery and harassment has become a norm that shouldn’t be normalised or accepted! It’s criminal, inhumane and causes so much pain and anxiety. It shouldn’t be allowed. Especially racism. Period. So I make him right for speaking out! I couldn’t believe some of the things I was hearing with how manipulative and gaslighty the institution is. All for the sake of appearances which is what it boils down to. Absolutely ridiculous. 

People deserve to be happy, they deserve freedom to live their lives without constant bombardment of cameras, scrutiny and bullying. They have a right to feel safe and not just thrown to the wolves, royal or not!

The reason I gave it a low rating was because of the huge section I found tedious. I also found the audiobook recording to be quite sloppy - Harry’s voice changing in tone on occasions due to different recordings being pieced together which also had mistakes. I don’t think that was down to him though, more the editors and producers of the recording. I did also find his voice very monotone which again made me shut off a bit, I often had to rewind sections repeatedly because I’d drifted away and gotten lost lol but I did find some of the writing really good with clever imagery and metaphors, which helped bring his world and feelings to the foreground.

Harry has undoubtedly grown up very privileged and has a lots of naivety due to being so sheltered and controlled throughout his life. I do however think he recognises this and has admitted to making mistakes but has also learnt from them and tried to make amends and be better. Overall I found the book quite sad, to be born as an object, a ‘spare’ must have been so difficult and confusing to deal with. Messed up really, but I do hope one day there can be a resolve between him and his brother at least.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Racism, Death, and Gun violence

Minor: Miscarriage

itsbumley's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Mental illness, Racism, War, Death, Kidnapping, Violence, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Animal death, Car accident, Miscarriage, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

sarah_hutchins's review

adventurous informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

The story was interesting to me and it held my attention a lot more than I thought. I can’t really find anything I didn’t like about it that stood out other than I think it could've used a bit more editing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: War, Stalking, Car accident, Death, and Islamophobia

Minor: Colonisation, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Misogyny

hannahcstocks's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Violence, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Classism, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Child abuse, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Murder, and Miscarriage

puglover's review

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Miscarriage, War, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Infidelity

n_ony's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Misogyny

Minor: Racism and Suicidal thoughts

kbairbooks's review

challenging emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

I did not grow up knowing anything about the Royals, and for many years of my teenage and young adult life did not understand the appeal of learning and speaking about these people. I remember times in my life seeing headlines and wondering, how could they possibly be true and how could they possibly talk about other human beings like that no matter what their status is. Over the past couple of years, more or less since Megan‘s entrance into the Royal family, I became more interested and learned more about the royal family and their dynamic and so forth. The amount of empathy and sorrow I feel for Harry and Meghan, and also the pride and joy of their strength of character, their strength of heart, and their love for each other is just beautiful to witness. And overall I appreciate the vulnerability and honesty of writing a book such as this which is so open and vulnerable. It takes a courageous person to be vulnerable and speak their truth regardless of others’ perceptions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Misogyny, War, Abandonment, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Pregnancy, Racism, Car accident, and Racial slurs

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

optimisticcautiously's review

challenging sad tense slow-paced

1.0

This book made me hate Harry. He describes hurting people in such callous terms (not just his bragging about killing Taliban - and, no matter what he claims, he was bragging- but also incidents like the fireworks in the hole, THAT NO ONE SEEMS TO TALK ABOUT).

Also, his descriptions of his “service” are such a joke. He has no clue what it is like to serve. He missed the entire point of hostile environment training. He describes the favouritism he received without realizing that’s what he is describing.

Plus his lack of insight that the criticism reported is based on his behaviour. Plus his freaking Oedipal Complex. Plus his todger stories. And…

He thinks no one was protecting him, but this book shows the Palace was protecting him from being revealed to the public for the ass he is. Don’t believe me? Read it in his own words.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Sexual assault

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, and Misogyny

Lack of compassion/empathy (bordering on sociopathic behaviour). Possible narcissistic abuse.

issyd23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.0

You know his life is fucked when he’d enter a war zone to escape the paps. Vive la république! 3🎳

NB This was actually quite boring as I’ve read 3 Royal bios & knew everything already. The Palace Papers is 100x better! Kate Middleton’s chapter is tantalising. However, this did make me want to go to Botswana. 

Other thoughts:

• I cannot believe I now know that Prince Harry is circumcised 
• Find it hilarious that according to Haz Charles is in his ‘Camilla era’ - Taylor take note! ✍️
• On a serious note his hatred of the media (especially Murdoch) is palpable - I wonder if he’ll pursue them in court
• On a personal note I don’t love that Harry is convinced we (US + allies) were the ‘good guys’ in Afghanistan - and his refusal to think critically about the wider implications and complexities of the war/occupation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pandemic/Epidemic, Stalking, Violence, War, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Body horror, Car accident, Classism, Colonisation, and Grief

booksandcat's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Torture, Grief, Mental illness, Car accident, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and War