Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Magma by Thora Hjörleifsdóttir

7 reviews

acrosstheskyinstars's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-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

1.0

 This book was basically the torture of a mentally ill woman in an abusive relationship. Trigger warnings for very graphic depictions of self-harm, suicide attempts, and sexual assault. I liked neither the stream-of-conscience style writing, nor the main character's frustrating refusal to do anything that would better her own circumstances. This book was definitely not my style. I don't think I can handle frustrating main characters. I spent the whole book begging her to make literally any other choices than the ones she did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Rape

dizzzybrook's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

1.5

Another trauma-porny book that conveys this idea that

becoming pregnant/having a child will somehow fix everything bad in your life

I’d like my $10 and the last hour of my life back, thanks.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Physical abuse, Vomit, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault

lavendar_fr0g's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

2.5

The writing is slightly off, stilled- likely due to translation. It’s an okay look at an abusive relationship, the slow degradation of boundaries and slow acceptance. The guy was bad news off the bat and Lilja is a bit of a jerk (doesn’t mean she deserves it obviously). Ending was a bit abrupt, didn’t resolve anything but it’s meant to make reader decide what happened for themselves. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Blood, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, Vomit, Body shaming, and Sexism

thewoodlandbookshelf's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Rape, and Misogyny

kaltain's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Cursing, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, and Vomit

travelseatsreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

At first glance it seems 20 year old Lilja has met the one! He's handsome, he’s intelligent & he reads, but it becomes apparent quite quickly that he is far from Mr. Right. She starts seeing him most days, moves in & slowly she becomes entrenched in a relationship full of abuse, manipulation & gaslighting & unfortunately she's unable to see the wood for the trees.

Thóra tells Lilja's story using short diary-like chapters which gives the reader an insight into the tortuous events Lilja experiences daily. I think this format worked beautifully for this piece as it really allowed us into the mind of Lilja & how she was experiencing & interpreting the situation. People often look in at abusive relationships & pontificate the age old line "Why doesn't she leave?". Thóra's brutal showing of Lilja's inner thought's answers that quite quickly. We see her mental health & any scrap of belief in herself be completely obliterated until the point where she believes it's all her fault & she sees no alternative, besides making herself 'better'. This evoked some strong emotions as I really just wanted Lilja to be able to see her own self worth & to be able to escape this torment.

This book does not apologise for being raw & brutal in its telling of Lilja's story. With unflinching honesty Hjörleifsdóttir shows the deep effects of gaslighting & domestic abuse. The format of the chapters along with Thóra's beautiful yet tense prose had me holding my breath at many points. I couldn’t bear to put it down & finished in one sitting.

Unfortunately, when some authors write victims of abuse they can portray them in an almost naive & weak manner but I loved that Hjörleifsdóttir portrays Lilja as a strong, beautiful & intelligent young woman who has succumbed to a torrent of abuse.

Thóra Hjörleifsdóttir has tackled the rampant pandemic issue of domestic abuse with a raw & brutal yet beautiful & considerate touch & shines a light on the fact that there are so many more Lilja's sitting out there in desperation, isolation & silence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

ashleyann's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Physical abuse and Rape

Minor: Abortion and Fatphobia