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clemmiem's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Classism, Death, Grief, Gore, Mental illness, War, Gun violence, Miscarriage, and Racism
Minor: Abortion and Police brutality
xtriplecrown's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
unexpectedly loved this ngl, was sobbing while reading it in places
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual violence, War, Homophobia, Sexism, and Violence
flyingryndeer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Murder, War, Pregnancy, Blood, Animal death, Death, Racism, Death of parent, and Child death
Moderate: Drug use, Abortion, and Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual content
undersea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Do yourself a favor and read a summary of Beowulf before reading this. You will get so much more out of some of the themes & points in the book.
I first read this in 2019 & I remember being fired up by the feminist themes & enamored with the prose. On rereading, I am still enamored with Headley’s writing, but the themes were a lot more complex & layered. I mostly felt a sad kind of rage for the women in the story & for women everywhere.
As opposed to the original story, no character is purely a hero or purely a monster and the exploration of that is expertly done. In the original the threat was real & here it’s imagined. Both by Dana & Willa. The damage that the imagined threats cause is completely catastrophic. This book touches on identity, history, toxic masculinity, generational trauma, racism, patriarchy, mental health, & PTSD.
The writing can get a little repetitive in some spots when you’re eager for the plot to advance but ultimately I think it benefits the complexity of the characters inner lives.
I first read this in 2019 & I remember being fired up by the feminist themes & enamored with the prose. On rereading, I am still enamored with Headley’s writing, but the themes were a lot more complex & layered. I mostly felt a sad kind of rage for the women in the story & for women everywhere.
As opposed to the original story, no character is purely a hero or purely a monster and the exploration of that is expertly done. In the original the threat was real & here it’s imagined. Both by Dana & Willa. The damage that the imagined threats cause is completely catastrophic. This book touches on identity, history, toxic masculinity, generational trauma, racism, patriarchy, mental health, & PTSD.
The writing can get a little repetitive in some spots when you’re eager for the plot to advance but ultimately I think it benefits the complexity of the characters inner lives.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: War, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Rape
chwinters's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
more magical realism than i thought there would be (read: i did not know there would be any magical realism), which threw me for a loop. however, this is well written and incorporates a lot of scholarship about grendel & his mother into the story.
if you’re interested in the topic or themes, it’s well worth the read.
if you’re interested in the topic or themes, it’s well worth the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use
re: content warnings, the main character is a veteran with severe PTSD and experienced captivity in what is implied to be the iraq war. most of the content warnings concern her dealing with her experiences.
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