Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

19 reviews

sc1398's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

I couldn’t put this book down. It disturbed me so much but I NEEDED to know what would happen next! It was mysterious and gripping in the deepest ways possible. It was a great read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child death, Blood, Physical abuse, Torture, Confinement, and Pregnancy

Minor: Self harm

nabila99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

 my first thought as i read this was: i don’t understand why the average rating for this book is so low!

the water cure is a gorgeously written and atmospheric exploration of abuse, trauma, family dynamics, loneliness, and survival as women. we follow the lives of three sisters, mainly the elder two, in their isolated, cult-like family that has convinced them that men are mortal threats to them, and that their abusive “therapies” are the only way to remain strong and unaffected. except one day, when a trio of men arrive on their island, testing their resolve. 

this is not an easy book to read - the abuse detailed in it is graphic, and the pain, loneliness and stockholm syndrome of the sisters is very heavy. i’m not a big fan of the revelations or the ending, and i wouldn’t call this a “feminist dystopia”, but i was enthralled by this slow-paced, eerie, heartbreaking story.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, and Drug use

Minor: Suicide

annablume's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The second part was a bit of a slog for me but I loved the ending. A lot of untied ends and completely unreliable narrators.
The prose is phenomenal, dreamy, very of its setting, but the narrating characters have uniquely deleveloped voices.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit, Child abuse, Blood, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, and Torture

caitlin1066's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

Okay, wow! So beautifully written and intense. It felt very confusing to begin with, but everything seemed to fall into place by the end. Definitely not a light-hearted read! There were extremely intense themes which were explained in such a way that I 100% see why they were added to the story. A tale of three sisters’ bond that is built on violence and abuse. Very metaphorical and poetic, what with the father figure being called King and the development of the male characters in the book. Some very harrowing scenes, some of the worst being Lia’s self harm and the ocean/baby scene. Thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend if you like books that are mysterious and dark. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

kirstyjmacleod's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

3.75

Three sisters have been raised on an island and taught to fear the outside world (which they have been told is toxic and unsafe), and particularly men. But - danger comes from closer sources, as well as three men who wash up shortly after the death of their father. Lushly atmospheric - but there are more questions than answers (how old are they? is the world beyond their island really unsafe or are they just told that? why did “the women” come there and why did they stop?) so the story stays a bit opaque, which might not bother others but I found it frustrating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse

Minor: Incest and Child abuse

Repeated descriptions of near-drowning experiences

subtlebookish's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, and Torture

agata's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.5

Interesting discussion of power dynamics between men and women, Mackintosh amplifies the current dynamics present in society in a way that doesn't feel overly exaggerated. 'Love' both familial and relationship-wise is presented as a sickness which I found was a different way of discussing love as weakness and kind of the pros and cons for that viewpoint. Engrossing read once you get into it, finished it in less than 2 days. Loved the nice short chapters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Self harm

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Suicidal thoughts

gentlethem's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Vomit and Incest

istaisa's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

1.0

I picked this up as I'd heard it was a feminist dystopian novel. Unfortunately, it's far from this. I found the plot extremely shallow, and the writing graphic and uncomfortable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse