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nicolesr1's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
I don’t think the blurb gives a realistic view of how the novel will handle Briseis’ story as well as the other women involved, as I felt it could have given more of a voice to them. I felt the end of the novel was rushed and could have done more to explore the women’s feelings and experiences as the myth wraps up.
The unexpected shift from 1st to 3rd person was jarring and occasionally brought me out of the narrative. Overall I enjoyed the read after I was able to push through the gruesomeness but it is about War and doesn’t shy away from the horrors of battle. A realistic depiction but lacking the depth of the female characters that I was hoping for. It is refreshing, yet horrific, to read something that focuses on the women effected by war and the realities of life in times of conflict rather than just another retelling of the heroes whose names we all know.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Violence, and War
radfordmanor's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol and Incest
vici24kl's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Vomit, War, Violence, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Death, Child death, Blood, Animal death, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Hate crime
lena_and_her_books's review against another edition
I can excuse bad characterization, but I draw the line at Achilles and Patroclus being cishet bros. To qoute the book: "(they) fell into bed and slept - as naked and sexless as two beans in a pod". Also they´re not characterized as friends more like Patroclus having developed stockholm syndrome and being unable to leave (to be fair the author says that their relationship is something deeper than love...whatever that means).
I mean all the characters where flat and boring (I can excuse the men being boring, bcs the book was written from a female perspective, but there is no excuse for the women being badly written). The only characterization that was on point was Achilles mommy issues.
The way slavery was talked about came across as very white and privileged.
Another thing that was really off-putting for me was the use of very modern words, that ruined the flow of the storyline for me a bit.
What I liked about this book was the way the author described the living conditions of the camp. I thought that was very well executed and very realistic.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and War
rhysecakes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual content
Moderate: Gore, Sexism, Misogyny, and Rape
Minor: Animal death
syllareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.0
Because, make no mistake, this was his story - his anger, his grief, his story. I was angry, I was grieving, but somehow, that didn't matter. Here I was, again, waiting for Achilles to decide when it was time for bed, still trapped, still stuck inside his story, and yet with no real part to play in it"
The Silence of the girls is another retelling of the Iliad - or, well, rather the Battle of Troy and most specifically, its most well-known fighter, Achilles. The book lends itself to comparisons with Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller so I will get those right out of the way and say: these two books work rather well as companion books of the same story but from different perspectives - if you, by any chance haven't yet read both of them, I'd suggest starting with this one first, though, partly because Miller's prose is unrivaled in its tender bruising whereas Pat Barker did not snare me with her words but rather the story itself.
Told mostly from Briseis' perspectives, this Greek war camp is entirely different than the one Patroclus offers us in SoA. Gritty, dark, full of dangers for herself and the other women, she's thrust into camp after seeing her own brothers slaughtered before her eyes, where Achilles takes her as his war prize. Briseis endures, like all the other women as well, their grief silent and forgotten as they become mere things, slaves to the men who killed their family. This is not her story - as she herself says. This is merely her being unable to separate herself from her captors, the way all women's stories went during that time. This is a woman's life, tongue, and thoughts being used to portray the grand men of history - and portray them she does, her own disgust and hatred carefully hidden lest she die for it.
The only thing I did not like about this book as much was the prose; partly because comparisons with SoA did not do this book any favours and partly because Barker likes to insert slang words and idioms into the text that simply do not work in this context. This is also why I am deducing one star from its final rating - I can otherwise only highly recommend it but remind people to heed the content warnings: there are aplenty.
Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Grief, Death, Child death, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship
ha1yan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Death of parent
Minor: Cannibalism, Excrement, and Vomit
emmathetanner's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Death