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xtriplecrown's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual violence, War, Homophobia, Sexism, and Violence
undersea's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: War, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Rape
madamenovelist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Infidelity, Body horror, Classism, Blood, Gore, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, and Cursing
chwinters's review against another edition
- 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
if you’re interested in the topic or themes, it’s well worth the read.
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.12dejamoo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Gun violence and Miscarriage
Minor: Rape, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Sexual content
octopus_farmer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Animal death, Stalking, Police brutality, Infidelity, Eating disorder, and Confinement
Minor: Addiction
ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“Listen,” the voice whispers. “In some countries, you kill a monster when it’s born. Other places, you kill it only when it kills someone else. Other places, you let it go, out into the forest or the sea, and it lives there forever, calling for others of its kind. Listen to me, it cries. Maybe it’s just alone.”
“So, are you crazy?” she asks, without fanfare. “*I* am. I see things… Why am I alive, anyway? Is that what you’re thinking? That’s what I’m thinking.”
“…but there are billions of years out there, and who knows what’s happened in them. If something’s happened once, we could all find love again. If something’s happened once, none of us are done for. None of us are the last of us. The story is all of the voices, not just the voice of the one who tells it at the end.”
- Beowulf: A New Translation, by Maria Dahvana Headley
- “Grendel and His Mother”, in The Source of Self Regard, by Toni Morrison
- the Norton Critical Edition of Beowulf, trans. by Seamus Heaney
- Grendel, by John Gardner
Graphic: Abortion, Animal death, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Eating disorder and Infidelity
Graphic depictions of PTSD associated with war