Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Snow by John Banville

8 reviews

velozebra's review

sad medium-paced

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

2.0

Content warning that I didn’t have:

this book contains a horrific scene of the sexual assault of a child told from the offender’s POV about halfway through

. I wish I had known about it. It’s unnecessary for the plot development, it was obvious long before this what had happened and it did NOT need to be there. I do not read past books that contain gratuitous scenes of sexual assault when they are clearly there for prurient reasons and do not advance the story in any way. Like, is this supposed to be edgy? Because it’s most assuredly NOT. It’s exploitive. Also, I can’t stand books where you’re not sure if the MC, a detective, is meant to be an idiot? Because this one surely is. Even if he’s annoying and stuck up, I don’t think he’s meant to be stupid enough to miss obvious clues and

cross boundaries with a waif-like damsel in distress

. The tropes are strong in this novel, and not in a good way. What a waste of my time. It could have been a good book, which is why I read more than half of it. Ruined by a lack of subtlety and imagination. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence

dorsetreader's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-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

Graphic: Pedophilia, Blood, Suicide, Violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, Sexual content, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

lynchyfynch's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Violence, Suicide, and Sexual violence

cstein's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Enjoyable read with interesting insights into Irish history/politics, but too many knowing nods to mystery genre tropes and archetypes, the motive was obvious to the reader long before the detective, and

there was a frustratingly long break between when we learned a character was dead and Strafford got it together to find the body.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Gore, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Alcoholism, Death, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Vomit and Child death

alicelily's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

A rather dull mystery. I’m not normally one to care if something is “predictable” but this was incredibly obvious quite quickly. Also the protagonist has no personality or emotion, apart from fantasising about every woman that he encounters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Child abuse, and Violence

Fairly detailed descriptions of

sexual abuse of young boys by priests

mercurialbooks's review against another edition

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? No

1.5

I cannot say I enjoyed this, as soon as the murder happens it is pretty obvious who the criminal is and even why they would have committed murder. Which is unfortunate.

That and the complete lack of actual investigation on the part of the detective left me a little confused as to how this has been pitched as a mystery / crime story at all. 

The main character seems to just hang out in the local area and it gets solved because someone eventually tells him the answer. 

So many plot holes it was painful. Oh that character isn't violent because he once worked in a butchers and couldn't wring a chickens neck? But he has literally just hunted a rabbit and split it open to gut it for cooking and doesn't blink?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape

Moderate: Death and Violence

canadianbookworm's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/snow.html

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Murder, Suicide, and Violence

tonstantweader's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

 

Snow is a historical mystery set in 1957. Ireland has been independent for thirty-five years, but after centuries of occupation and years of civil war, the wounds of the past are fresh and deeply felt. It is a Catholic country where the church held overweening power. That influence was maintained long past the time of this novel. After all, Ireland only legalized abortion by referendum two years ago.

Detective Inspector St. John Strafford (with an R) is sent to County Wexford to solve the murder of a local priest who insisted people call him Father Tom. That his genitals were removed by the murderer will set off alarm bells for a modern reader, but this was 1957, long before The Boston Globe published their shocking series of allegations in 2002.

The suspect pool is limited by a blizzard, but then so is the investigation. Father Tim was staying with local aristocrats, the Osbornes. Father, Stepmother, son, and daughter, plus a cook and a young man who lives out in the woods. They are a weird, unhappy family.

Strafford faces suspicion and difficulty because he is a Protestant which many seem to regard as un-Irish. He thinks he was sent to investigate because if he doesn’t solve the case, people will be happy for the damage to his career and if he does solve the case, it’s also likely to damage his career.  He’s right.

I hope John Banville does a series with Strafford who is an appealing detective. Snow was a fair mystery. Banville attempted the impossible, though, creating a sense of mystery around a motive that may have been elusive in 1957, but is flashing in neon lights for a 2020 reader. There would have been a greater sense of mystery if there had been no mutilation, but then, the case might have been written off as an accident or addressed by the local constable. In some ways, Snow is a bit too honest, leaving us feeling unsatisfied with the course of justice. Still, I look forward to more from this author as I loved his Quirke books and believe Strafford will be an equally engaging series.

Snow will be released on October 6th. I received an e-galley from the publisher through Edelweiss.

Snow at Hanover Square Press |Harlequin

John Banville author site 

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2020/09/29/9781335230003/

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault