Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Power by Naomi Alderman

67 reviews

charisw's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Hate crime, Stalking, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

bethanie_l's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Wasn't sure about this one as I'm slightly apprehensive about the gender switch society concept. It can often be weaponized to say "see? You're just as bad as men so there's no point in feminism." This was not that. It felt more like... like pointing out that these things that are so horrific to see crop up are things that already happen to women in real life. And I can't deny that sometimes I long for men to understand what it's like to be afraid to go jogging at night, that you can't wear headphones because an attacker could sneak up, you can't wear your hair in a ponytail because they could use it to grab you, you can't run in secluded areas because they could abduct you in seconds. The first half is satisfying in this way, seeing women stand up for themselves and seeing men not feel in control anymore. It devolves into horror, but again nothing more than what already happens to women. Is that an excuse? Of course not. But it should be a wake up call to any men who read it. I wonder if they'll even understand that this book is a mirror, even though towards the end I feel like we're being bashed over the head with it. It made me cry deep sobs and I love it for that. 

Issues: very cishet view of gender and sexuality. There's no room for trans characters. One intersex character, but it doesn't go into the gender issues really. Felt like the

voice in Allie's head being Samuel from the Bible

was a very weird choice. And the graphic rape scenes were a bit much, even knowing the framing device of them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Body horror, Medical trauma, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Blood, War, Misogyny, Trafficking, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Child death, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

marykatesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

4.25

WOW.
for the first third or maybe half of the book i felt like i was reading a good book but not connecting, or maybe missing something. then as the plot started to develop at a faster pace it felt like i couldn’t look away from the car crash that the characters were headed into. i LOVE that alderman didn’t just create a feminine utopia with her work. instead she called into question the belief that power, when wielded by women, is good and positive. the ending was a shocking but oddly perfect end for the characters and their stories, and the emails at the end framing it in a new perspective… just woah. it made me go back and flip through the book with this new view. 
my only issue with the book is how graphic some of the violence and rape was. this isn’t a criticism though because i think it added to the strength of the plot and the comparison to modern rape-culture. that being said, it was still difficult to get through some of those moments, probably because it was evoking memories of actual situations that women currently face. it was so easy to visualize the scenes in this book with the genders flipped since that is how it normally is. 
overall, i thought this was a phenomenal book because it didn’t just use feminine rage as an outlet for pent up anger about EVERYTHING. alderman took the opportunity to highlight feminine rage while also pointing out the flaws that can accompany power, especially when it’s at the expense of others. 
i wish there was more of each character. i want more chapters telling me more about them as people and what their lives are like outside of the snippets in the book. ugh it was so good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, War, Blood, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Death, and Genocide

Moderate: Grief, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Dysphoria, Incest, and Child abuse

non graphic depiction of rape of women, graphic depiction of rape of men

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexism, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, War, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Torture, Sexual content, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Death, Cursing, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Hate crime, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Body horror

Minor: Self harm, Bullying, Child death, Abortion, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Slavery, and Suicide

gabgeh's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Incredible. Amazing. Thought-provoking. Best book I've read this year. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Torture, Violence, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Trafficking, War, Xenophobia, Body horror, Death, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Abandonment, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Slavery

annir's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Transphobia, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Drug use, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Gun violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Classism, Islamophobia, Child death, Hate crime, Slavery, Torture, Confinement, Cursing, and Body horror

moneill4's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Misogyny

Moderate: Rape, Medical trauma, and War

aliciagubieda's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Medical trauma

karaswils's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

5.0

This book gets 5 stars from me because of the amount of “holy shit” moments it has—in a good way. I love the way that power is explored as it relates to patriarchy, sexual violence, and a host of other dynamics. 

It’s also very dark and violent, so—be warned.

My biggest disappointment is that there is absolutely no discussion, exploration, or even a nod to queer folks, especially queer women, in this novel. For all that Alderman does to capture a variety of perspectives and responses to a worldwide phenomenon, the absence of wlw seems like a big oversight.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Medical trauma, War, Sexual violence, and Rape

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Sexual harassment

welkinvault's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

The idea behind this novel is just astounding.  The novel just rips along and pulled me with it.  but  - I had a lot of reservations with it, one of which is that it is very cis gendered, and it actually felt dated.  

and the ending, the back and forth between ?academics? it just made me laugh as it was so clumsily done. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Violence, Child abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, and Sexism

Moderate: Slavery, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Vomit, and Religious bigotry