Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

43 reviews

rhysecakes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexism

Minor: Animal death

carolinasbooks's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I don’t even know where to begin with this book. 

I read this soon after I read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller which made it so jarring. In TSoA, Achilles and Patroclus are lovers and it’s beautiful. However, in The Silence of the Girls, they aren’t lovers and Achilles is a horrible person - he slaughters everyone in his path and essentially rapes Briseis over and over. 

It’s very brutal and some things like smells or the way a corpse looks are described so well and realistically that there were a few moments that made me gag. 

This is such an important read because The Iliad is so focused on men and this book flips that on its head because you get to see it all through the eyes of the women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and War

nasra's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An eye opening feminist telling of the well know siege of Troy. It puts the event into the perspective of the women who were brutalised, raped and stripped of their identity and autonomy. It portrays Achilles, Agamemnon and Odysseus etc not as untouchable mythical heroes but as deeply flawed men who threw tantrums and were emotionally driven. This was much needed in an area of mythology and story telling that has become synonymous with manliness and masculinity.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Violence