Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

44 reviews

tzlumy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Racism, Sexual violence, Death, Rape, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Death of parent, and Trafficking

Minor: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Animal death

oproy's review against another edition

inspiring reflective slow-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

3.0

I found the backdrop to the story extremely interesting and awe-inspiring. The plight of the Native Americans in the not so distant past is unfathomable, and this novel brings their stories to life.  And the entire idea of the termination bill and that people can just be used as chess pieces is a sad reality many face. 

However, rating just the novel, I did not enjoy. The way Erdrich intertwined magic/mysticism with the rest of the story sometimes confused me. I felt I had to finish it just to finish it, not because I enjoyed turning the page.  I understand that the point of Patrice is that she is coming of age emotionally while also having to take care of her family, but she was just unlikeable to me. 

I did find that the author’s way of leaving certain things to our own mind (Vera’s whereabouts, Parantau’s abuse) was well done. 


Overall, I did not enjoy but mostly because I felt like there was always something I was missing just beyond the grasp of my understanding. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Racism, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

theloosepage's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Sexual content

lizzie24601's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring relaxing 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

4.0

Another gorgeously written novel by Louise Erdrich. Her books feel so cozy to me - she is so skilled at sucking the reader into her world and the community she's brought to life. This book tells the important and inspiring story of her grandfather and his tireless community fighting to save themselves from termination.

One star taken off solely because

I was so disappointed by the lack of a reunion between Patrice and Vera. Patrice spends the entire first third of the book searching for her sister and worrying about her, and when Vera returns, there isn't a single scene with the two of them!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking and Racism

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Child death, Death, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

Minor: Suicide, Animal death, and Gun violence

nofrigatelikeabook's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Sexual content and Death

maggies's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

2.0

Read for a book club and really struggled with this one. It was beautifully written. Erdrich is clearly a master. But the subject matter and composition were not my cup of tea. It was almost stream of consciousness, which is my absolute least favorite, and I found it very difficult to keep track of the many characters, especially as the POV switched to a new character basically by the chapter. I gave it an extra star because I learned a lot about termination, but overall, not for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Death of parent, Racism, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

ukponge's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

maryfranvs's review

dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexism, Addiction, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: Sexual content

rieviolet's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective 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

3.5

This is the first Louise Erdrich's book I've read and, all in all, I liked it. It was not a bad reading experience and I'd like to try out some of her other books.

The chapters are quite short so you can get through them quickly and the book doesn't really feel as long as it is. 
There are multiple point of views and it is interesting to experience so many different voices; still, inevitably, some characters were more captivating than others to me, and the overall narrative could feel a bit disjointed. 

I really appreciated how the author constructed the characters, they were flashed out well and felt very vivid on the page.
Also, I've read very few stories about Native American communities, so I enjoyed getting a glimpse into their history and culture.

It took me a bit to tune into the writing style, and there were still some bits where I struggled a little with the language and I'm not sure I really understood what was being said (but I am not a native speaker) or what was going on.

At times it got a touch strange for my personal taste 

just to name a few examples: dogs talking, chapters from a horse's POV, mention of a horse's vulva

, or the story took quite dark and disturbing turns abruptly, leaving me a bit discombobulated.

I wasn't completely sold on the ending, I think that a lot was left unexplored and untold, which is comprehensible given that there were a lot of narrative threads, but it still left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death, and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual content, Colonisation, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Medical content, Kidnapping, Violence, Gun violence, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Addiction, and War

matcha_cat's review against another edition

informative mysterious sad 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Trafficking

Minor: Kidnapping, Rape, Confinement, Death, and Death of parent