Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Call Me Cassandra by Marcial Gala

10 reviews

peeled_grape's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad

5.0

Reading the excerpt, I thought it would be strange like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, but it wasn’t what I expected at all. Cassandra is reborn in the body of a young Cuban boy, and his entire life is lived all in one moment, him being able to see his own future and the future of everyone around him. LOVED this. I’ll add it to a syllabus of mine eventually. Surrealist and sad and full. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, and War

another_dahlia's review

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

hollys_library's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and War

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Gun violence, Transphobia, and Murder

sercem_w_ksiazkach's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Racial slurs, Colonisation, and War

beabeabea_'s review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

vividvoid's review against another edition

dark sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I've never read a book so sad that is written this way. It's like, I'm dead inside just like the mc of this book. There's so much thought I have about this book but I can't do it justice. So please just read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Grief

mythology retelling

reb_franz's review

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

4.5

I really loved the magical realism in this book, and especially the way time wasn't flowing in a linear way but we were jumping back and forth in time seamlessly. It reads like one of the Greek tragedies, especially the Eschylus ones (maybe because of the constant mention of the Erynes?) because we already know what's going to happen and there's no way to prevent it. It reminded me both of "Chronicles of a death foretold" and "Slaughterhouse 5". The way the author depicts machismo, transphobia and the internalized homophobia are both heartbreaking and evocative, without feeling like exclusively an LGBT+ novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Hate crime

lwgreen1's review

emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

It’s weird. It flips back and forth in time like I’ve never seen. I was entranced. The fact that Raul would say something about the future just made me want to keep reading to find out for myself what would happen — smart writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and War

vigil's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

on an objective level, this is an amazing book. it is well crafted, accomplishes precisely what it set out to do, along with great prose. if anyone asked me about it, i'd readily recommend it. 

however, i didn't connect with it like i thought i would. i think it's either the nature of the translation, or of raul's point of view. the book is best described as surreal, keeping you in a quiet haze of introspection and reminiscence, undercut by a swift undercurrent of moments of brutality. part of the hazy quality of the book is the way marcial gala seamlessly transitions between past, present, and future in both subtle and piercing ways. the brutality of this stood out, as well as the occasional moments of sharp emotion from raul, but the haze (the majority of the book) did not especially. 

it's hard to put my finger on what exactly would have made the book better for me, but i do think it should've been longer, and perhaps having a different translator / translation style.

this book is filled with triggers, heed all warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

generalalarm's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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: Sexual assault

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Transphobia