Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Galatea

Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Galatea by Madeline Miller

40 reviews

thenoboshow's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

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ursa_arlo's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

Positives. As far as short stories go, this one is very strong. It is a story of a beautiful woman coming into her own as someone who is more than her beauty; she is curious, daring, intelligent and a loving mother. All of which is spoiled by her abusive husband who would rather see her as an obedient object of lust without thoughts or personality. The ending is devastating: while her last act gives her back her agency and stops her from being an object of lust, it also deprives her of the future she deserves.

Negatives. This story would have worked better as an addition to a collection or anthology. Ovid's stories are well known for connecting back to a larger theme. If you want to thoroughly critique Ovid's work, creating an anthology with an overarching theme would be the way to go.

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quarkie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.25

I picked up this book based on a recommendation from the New York Times "Read Like the Wind" newsletter. It was one of two physically small books described that week, and it is small! 6" by 4", and about 50 pages long.

Honestly, I'm sort of glad it wasn't any longer. It didn't have to be, to get its main point across. The world that Galatea lives in is horrifying, and was very uncomfortable to read about. It is even worse to think how near this fiction is to reality: women being seen by men, their partners, their families, or society as a whole as nothing but property, and used as such. That it would be much better if they were silent and simply did as they were told. And how everyone - professionals, other women, strangers - all help uphold this role.

That said, it was beautifully written. Galatea's voice is clear, strong, and very matter-of-fact. To hear this story solely through her eyes is powerful. her reclamation of her own is ending is powerful.

Overall, it made me look forward to reading more by this author.

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