Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

38 reviews

morag's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

3.5

This book is a bit of an acquired taste, and I'm not sure that I acquired it by the end. If you love reading books with horrible main characters you are meant to hate, you'll love this. If not, this is going to be upsetting from start to finish.

I do think this book is relatively successful at what it sets out to do. It explores cycles of abuse, misogyny (both external and internal), and, obviously, the ethics of cloning. Martine's storyline really pulled me in, and every revelation about what her life was like got me more and more invested. The place she ended up in by the end still sticks with me. I wanted to pry the book open, pull her out of it, and weld the door shut after her. That speaks volumes for the effectiveness of Gailey's writing. 

That being said, the main character, Evelyn, is written as a cold, uncaring asshole, and that is done so effectively that it makes the novel hard to read. If you need your main characters to be even remotely likable or empathetic, you will not like this one. I do understand that Evelyn is intended to be this way, but on a personal level, it was just too much. I couldn't stomach a second read of this.

Overall, this is a brutal examination of misogyny, abuse, and personhood. It won't be for everyone, but if you're ready for a tough read, it'll deliver.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Child abuse

Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, and Medical trauma

pandact's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Nature vs. Nurture by Chase Petra is a cool song that hits the same beats about children, parents, and ethics!

The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week podcast turned out to be the perfect place to recommend this book, for so many reasons. The best way I can describe this story is: parts of Frankenstein and Stepford Wives reanimated with modern concerns.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Suicide, Dementia, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Body horror, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

callosaurus's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child abuse, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse

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. 

---

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

---

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

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.

---

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

amcleod's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

The Echo Wife has been my favorite Sarah Gailey book so far, which is saying something. It was my favorite form of fiction, where the emotional arc is deeply entwined with the fantasy or sci Fi elements. It's a story about the ways that abuse both familial and romantic leave deep wounds on the victim that last for the rest of their lives. As with all of Sarah Gailey's books the mechanics of the story are immaculate and the portrait of the main character is painfully human. The past and present are woven together seamlessly with clear threads running between to flesh out a life and the plot is always satisfying and never predictable.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Medical content, Gore, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Body horror, Death, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse

paperknotbooks's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Not a book I think I could re-read without the thrill of discovery. Made me question what it means to be human.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Gaslighting, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Blood, and Confinement

escapinginpaper's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Gore, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Body horror, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicide, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcohol

skillwithaquill's review against another edition

4.25

I devoured this book and I absolutely loved it. The pace, the narrative, the science fiction mixed with true-life trauma, and CLONES!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Murder, Body horror, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Pregnancy