Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Call Me Cassandra by Marcial Gala

4 reviews

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

---

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

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. 

---

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

megansoetaert's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

i loved loved loved this book. the translation was excellent, the writing so reflective and interesting. i feel like i’ll be thinking about this book for a long time- the writing style, circular/simultaneous storytelling, and trans representation were all so intriguing. although painful, i also liked getting to see this era of cuban history & cuba’s involvement in angola, told from a queer person’s POV.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

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.

---

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