Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Anthem by Noah Hawley

7 reviews

puddinghead's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, War, Xenophobia, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

vlawton's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Grief, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, War, Trafficking, Eating disorder, and Adult/minor relationship

redporchinverter's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

4.5

Untangling everything from the world’s climate change paralysis to the taxonomy of modern fascism and white supremacy, Anthem is so embedded in the present moment that I hope it makes no sense in five years, but right now, it may be the only thing that does. A lit match of a satire that illuminates the darkness without succumbing to it or pretending it’s tolerable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Gun violence

ambergrewal's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Suicide, Sexual violence, Racism, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, and Mass/school shootings

ashleyreadsandruns's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

5.0

This book SHOOK me! I was riveted from the beginning to the end, and I was frustrated every time I had to put the book down! I cringed throughout as the author made such incisive points about American society, and I was in awe at the breadth of the topics that he was able incorporate in this novel.
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Anthem by Noah Hawley is a dystopian look at post-pandemic America set just a couple years in the future. It explores the mental health of teenagers and how they have been impacted by all the decisions of adults. It also has a commentary throughout around the climate crisis and what we have done to our Earth.
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I highly recommend this to anyone ready to take on a very dark commentary about America. The book is full of triggers, though, so please tread carefully if that is of concern!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Mental illness, Rape, and Racism

Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Sexual violence, and Gun violence

jennsbookshelves's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and War

ashleysbookthoughts's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

2.5

I loved Hawley’s book, Before the Fall. So when I saw that he had a new novel coming out that was kind of a dystopian critique of America, I was excited. The jacket description of this book is bananas, but it begins as a compelling, insightful critique of America and how divided we’ve become. 

But then it devolves into a bit of a mess. I think I get what Hawley was trying to do. He’s attempting to satirize the current state of America. But I think his point and his narrative get bogged down by the fact that he’s trying to do too much. There’s no issue that isn’t included. We get everything: the political divide, climate change, opioid epidemic, social media, COVID, the Me Too movement, Q-Anon, gun violence, the war in Afghanistan, and more. There’s even a Jeffrey Epstein type character. 

To his credit, Hawley acknowledges within the text that the world he created is “ridiculous,” but his points still come across as heavy-handed. It isn’t helped by the dialogue, which is often clunky. There are too many metaphors; people don’t talk like this. 

Somewhere in here, though, is a good story. I was invested throughout and anxious to see where it was going. Unfortunately, the problem, to quote from the book: “Simon sighs. It’s all so vague.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and War

Moderate: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mass/school shootings, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault