Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

14 reviews

kris386's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, and Mental illness

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Murder, and Torture

Minor: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Medical content, and Misogyny

mariiapon's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

brindolyn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

As a fan of Riley Sager's work, I was super excited to dive into "Survive the Night." The premise, a film junkie university student accepts a ride from a stranger shortly after her friend was murdered? I'm in! 

 

I was a little disappointed in the strength of the story. Charlie, our heroine, is described as having a mental illness that causes her to hallucinate. It at times feels like Sager is using Charlie's mental illness as a blanket reason for the many terrible decisions she makes. 

 

Charlie is wracked with guilt after her best friend and roommate is murdered. She blames herself and decides to leave her university and her boyfriend behind in New Jersey to go back home to Ohio. The story takes place in the 1990s, a time before smartphones and rideshare apps. So Charlie resorts to the ride board on her campus, which was a pretty common practice. What wasn't common practice was getting into a car with a stranger without anyone to vouch for them. Which is what Charlie decides to do. This decision is attributed to her desperation to leave the place her friend was killed. 

 

Her guilt, depression and hallucinations combine for a nightmarish car ride filled with doubt and paranoia. 

 

One thing I love about Sager's story is the use of an unreliable narrator. The parts of the story told from Charlie's perspective are not at all reliable as she often slips into cinematic hallucinations when overwhelmed with emotion. And she is overwhelmed during much of this story. That means we, the readers, have to take everything we read from her perspective with a huge grain of salt. And that makes for a very interesting thriller. 

 

While I don't think this was Sager's best novel, it definitely kept my interest. And the twist at the end was a great touch that should surprise most readers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Murder, Car accident, Death, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Minor: Cancer, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, and Gaslighting

evilscientist's review against another edition

tense

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, and Torture

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, and Medical content