Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky

11 reviews

speir's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Sexism, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Death, and Pregnancy

sunn_bleach's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious 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? Yes

2.75

This'll be one of those books that I like more for the ideas than the content itself. "Roadside Picnic" is easily one of the most influential books of contemporary science fiction through the two pieces of media shouted-out on the cover. The Zone is fascinating, and I find myself dining on and thinking about the various horrific conceits in the novel. Many of the more insidious aspects are mentioned off-hand, as if the "traps" (how else to think of them from a human perspective?) have become mundane.

However, the book itself is... kind of boring. Perhaps this is because it's so short, at less than 200 pages for most modern editions. You have an initial foray into the Zone, but it's bookended by lots of talking and drinking with what felt like cursory examination of the weirdness that comes from the Zone. And I'm not convinced that banality is its own point; "Roadside Picnic" isn't a character study, as bolstered by Boris Strugatsky's own afterword. Dialogue feels mismatched, and chapters stop right as events start t move. For a book about the Zone and people's relationship to it, there's an awful lot of puttering about.

The high point is the conversation between Pillman and Noonan. The former's theory about aliens having the eponymous roadside picnic and leaving their trash for smaller creatures to obsess over is an absolutely fascinating postmodern outlook on man's purpose in the universe. The Strugatskys knocked those 10 or 15 pages out of the Zone's garage.

I'm glad I read this for the influence on some media that I adore, but it would be a hard sell to someone who isn't deeply invested in the history of Russian science fiction or just wants to get more out of the "Stalker" media.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Sexism, and Pregnancy

beckhaze's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

linnybear's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

I suppose my decision to read it in english was the first mistake, I always find russian classics thrilling and engaging but this one had no effect on me. Maybe if I read it in my native language (polish) whcih has way more language similarities to russian I'd enjoy it more. I find certain themes of this book, such as main character's alcoholism cliché (as if his whole character is based on stereotypes) but perhaps I shouldn't hold it against it due to the age and the country it was written in (with its certain society problems and literary traditions). I completely understand the impact this novel had on an entire genre, I think the storyline itself had lots of potential and with better execution it could still keep up with time 50 years later but that would require something more than throwing philosophical debates in the last two chapters.

tl;dr it's fine I guess? read Lem instead

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fatphobia and Sexism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Pregnancy

erikwmj's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Racism and Sexism

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Violence, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, and War

hauntedvamphotel's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, and Sexism

gilnean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Excrement, and Pregnancy

storyorc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

The Zone is everything I want from the unknowable. Also never loses sight of, or condemns, the little people, where many books would let themselves get seduced by the decision-makers.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Sexism

fluffyinsect's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

Mein erstes Strugatzki Buch und ich mochte den sachlichen Erzählstil sehr. Man wird als Lesende in vieles nicht eingeweiht, aber das gefiel mir hier auch. Einzig störend ist das Frauen so gut wie nicht vorkommen und wenn dann eben im Geschlechterbild der damaligen Zeit, aber das gehört wohl dazu. 
Ein Buch dessen Inhalt mich noch einige Zeit später zum Nachdenken anregt.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism