Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

123 reviews

jeannette_m's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Child abuse and Suicide

puffinthedog's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Speaking as someone who is still unlearning the things I was taught throughout childhood and multiple abusive relationships- The Echo Wife was a heartbreaking novel of how childhood abuse and interpersonal violence strip people of their will and leaves them unsure who is making the choices for them, even in their own heads. If you don’t have a history of psychological abuse, perhaps it can be read as a book questioning the ethics of cloning, and with that framework I can’t tell you how good a story this is if that’s what you’re looking for. I have no idea how plausible the science is that backs the plot. But as someone who identified with Martine this story made me see things in myself that I knew were there and made me look directly at them in broad daylight in a way that, maybe for the first time, allowed me to really feel sad for myself and angry at my own Nathans (and Evelyns). 

I don’t know if this book is a masterpiece in general or just a masterpiece for me, in this moment I’m in. I’m too deep in my own experience that resonates too loudly for me to comment on writing or storyline. I think both of those things were enjoyable and interesting, but the overall experience of this book is the emotion and the characters. I can see this falling flat for someone who just wants a fun sci-fi romp and not a look at how parenting, society, and intimate partner violence shapes people and makes us question how much free will we have and if it’s possible to break the programming in a world that wants us pleasant, submissive, and unquestioning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, Slavery, Infidelity, and Violence

Minor: Abortion and Suicide

andreac713's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Domestic abuse

becksusername's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder

turrean's review

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.5

The book was a clever and chilling reflection on how people are shaped and socialized, especially women. I kept getting caught up in questions about the plausibility of the plot, before realizing that the improbability of the narrative wasn’t the point: the moral dilemma was the point. And, I suppose, the horrifying inevitability of the conclusion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Death, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse

heypretty52's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Murder, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Body horror, and Medical content

Minor: Sexism, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

gsch219's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse

lilybear3's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I listened to the audiobook version read by Xe Sands.  I didn't mind her as a narrator, but I had to listen to this book at 1.25x speed because it felt slow and the breaks were quite long.  The premise of this book is really cool and I think executed quite well.  We learn a lot about Evelyn and what in her past has made her the way she is.  I was personally annoyed by her every now and then but I understand the circumstances.  Each time I thought, "where is this story going? there's a decent amount of time left." I was hit with another issue they have to overcome.  It was slow for me a few times but it definitely was interesting.  The ending was alright, but I'm not sure how to make it better.  This isn't something I would've picked up on my own but a co-worker suggested it and I'm glad I gave it a shot.  I could see this becoming a movie.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape

bookrokosmos's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

sometimes it’s okay to read books for the vibe and not now what the fuck is going on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Body horror

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Emotional abuse

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Take cloning, moral amboguity, replacements, women in science, and a mysogenistic ex, mix them together with murder and a cover-up and out comes this book. It won't be for everyone, but I rather enjoyed this dark story. Every twist was intriguing and added to the experience nicely. I also really liked how Evelyn is written. She's an interesting character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Medical content

Demanding a woman get pregnant, sexism in science