Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

253 reviews

trinofspades's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Trafficking, Slavery, War, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Classism, Murder, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Child abuse, Death, and Rape

cannibalgender's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

I’m now done with Silence of the Girls and I’m…disappointed. It does not feel at all like a narrative designed to craft and uplift female characters. Most of the book is internal, but I feel it really REALLY suffered because Brisies’ relationships with other women are glossed over and sort of…told, not shown, in favor of perceptions about Achilles and Patroclus. 

I didn’t pick up this book to hear more about Achilles and Patroclus and their relationship, but truthfully they were they only characters who got to develop complexities and drove the narrative forward. Once Patroclus died, it truly felt that nothing else was going to happen- his dynamic with Achilles and with Brisies drove much of the middle act, and Achilles’ own personal feelings drove much of the third. 

When his POV was introduced I was tempted to DNF. It genuinely felt like not only did the narrative revolve around these men, with the MC and the women around her serving as silently observing props, but this mindset is enforced by the narrative and the MC herself.

Brisies often addresses the audience, and emphasizes how she herself feels like an object, that slavery has made her owned in spirit as well, and although she mocks the women who grow to love their captors, she both grows to love Patroclus (who regularly rapes her supposed friend Iphis, his slave) but chooses not to escape from Achilles, claiming that sexual slavery is “her life now.” An odd narrative about slavery coming from a voice so clearly belonging to a British white woman. 

It’s all well and good to claim to speak for underrepresented characters, but they have to have a VOICE, y’know? An actual new perspective. My favorite parts were getting to see how Helen was viewed by a woman close to her staying in Troy, because like, that’s a character that has been legitimately maligned for centuries. Unfortunately, we don’t see much of her, or Brisies herself, outside of her orbit around Achilles. 

It felt as though the author realized halfway through that this book was not about women, it was about Achilles, and simply had her MC say “well, women are so silenced that I’m only a background player in his story” instead of…writing a story in which Brisies did NOT feel like a background character. 

Frustrating as all hell.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Rape

evelynepisodes's review against another edition

Found the book too disturbing for me. I wasn’t interested in a book about rape and murder. I’m happy for that to be a part of the book but not the overall theme of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Body horror, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Slavery, Violence, War, Blood, Rape, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Vomit

readinbythesea's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was so sad, so heart-breaking and so needed. It was the first book I went all out in annotating and I'm so glad I did. 

I do not recommend this book to anyone who just read The Song of Achilles, though. You will hate Achilles. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Genocide, Child death, Death, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Grief, Gore, Murder, Rape, War, and Sexual violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

amphytrite's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Animal death, Suicide, Confinement, Medical trauma, Murder, Slavery, Child death, Grief, Medical content, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abandonment, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Rape, and Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Fire/Fire injury

Content warning: plague, rats

ashybri's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Blood, Genocide, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, War, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Child death, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal death

marilla07's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Sexual assault, and Death

Moderate: Suicide

gracewiley's review against another edition

reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Slavery, War, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Body horror, Death, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, and Rape

Moderate: Child death, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, and Sexism

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Infidelity, Vomit, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment, Excrement, Domestic abuse, and Infertility

sangsmiles's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, War, Violence, Slavery, Sexual assault, and Sexism

Moderate: Rape

matt_bush's review against another edition

This book is called "The Silence of the Girls" and supposedly offers "nuanced, complex portraits of characters and stories familiar from mythology... seen from Briseis's perspective". This is not the case in the slightest. After part 1, Briseis is relegated to what essentially boils down to a silent (haha, good one Pat Barker), flat, and apathetic side character in the "grand" story of Achilles, the siege of Troy, and the relationships with his fellow soldiers. This is not what I came for, and making Achilles the primary third person perspective for most of the book past part 1 is not what was originally promised. 
The book does little to nothing to actually explore the life, emotions, tribulations, or brief moments of solace of these "Girls" so brazenly promoted in the book's title. If you want to read the Illiad, I'm sure there are many other retellings that do it more justice and with more depth, nuance, and complexity than this, which is a shame, as this perspective could have provided a captivating and thought-provoking angle if executed effectively.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Rape

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence