Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Naiset puhuvat by Miriam Toews

121 reviews

annahollamby's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Compelling and profound. Not a fan of the fact that the story is told from the perspective of a male narrator, though I understand the reasoning. I hate, with every fibre of my being, that it is based on real-life events. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Deadnaming

nellamaneiro's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring 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? N/A

4.5

Toews’ storytelling is clever and inventive. The book is told through the eyes of a man, which I was first confused by, but Toews’s writing quickly convinced me it was the best choice. This book achieves an imagined re-telling of true events that feels so authentic. I was expecting a depressing read, but found the complete opposite. It describes a patriarchy so cruel it makes you question God, but the women are somehow able to make sense of it and separate man’s evil from God’s will. Their faithfulness is not the end of them. Overall a fascinating exploration of the thousands of social ties that force women into complex decision-making and paradoxical philosophy. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse and Incest

alyssa2012's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Misogyny, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Slavery, Incest, Infidelity, and Self harm

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Fire/Fire injury

yoe's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring slow-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed the audiobook. 
I originally started reading it as an ebook and I enjoyed the very beginning but it is a slow, character-driven so I ended up putting it down for a while. But glad I got the audiobook. There’s little plot so it’s a hard book to recommend but it still felt like a powerful story 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

Moderate: Suicide attempt

Minor: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse

diothyst's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

1.0

This book should be a deeply reflective, poignant narrative of the complicated feelings/emotions of multiple women coming to terms with what has happened to them, the questions they raise about their faith and its interpretation, and their struggle to determine how to address the matter in a short time frame is instead a view into the mind of a man of the colony. The book lacks any true look into the women, and you are instead bombarded with August's thoughts and opinions, his nonsensical metaphors/analogies, and his desperation for anything Ona does to be romantic towards him. He completely overshadows the women in the book and often his own experiences and troubles become the focus during situations. He is an unlikeable narrator and in turn many of the women become unlikeable when we are not given the proper chance to view the happenings through their eyes and why they are reacting the way they are. For what the book is about, it greatly misses the mark on what it could have been. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

emma_likes_plants's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse

bookdragonkatie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Child abuse

Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Suicide, and Pregnancy

singingsfun's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Favorite quote from the book: 
“Leaving would give us the more far superior perspective we need to forgive, which is to love properly and to keep the peace according to our faith. Therefore, our leaving would not be an act of cowardice, abandonment, disobedience, or rebellion. It wouldn’t be because we were excommunicated or exiled. It would be an extreme act of faith.”

This book is heavy, depressing, infuriating, empowering, hopeful, sometimes funny, and full of faith. And I love it!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Rape, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Suicidal thoughts

maxgold's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I want to note that the characters are not diverse in the sense they are all Mennonite (presumably white or at least all the same race) women. But they’re diverse in the sense of views and personalities. Meaning incredibly diverse in those sense. The author really does an incredible job at showing how not all people in a religious cult are going to think in the same way. Their motives are all similar, yet their drive is very diverse. Their reactions are diverse. It really dirigés the book I think.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Minor: Transphobia, Suicide, and Death

laceystairs's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

Wow! This book was not what I was expecting. It is heartbreaking and also somehow hopeful. Exploring the options of a group of women as they come up with possible solutions to a devastating problem which has been affecting their community. The female relationships in this story are the center and the soul of the book, but it is also about how the women relate to the men, children, and outside world around them. I think that everybody should read this book, even though it deals with difficult subject matter. It's important. It's a story that needs to be shared.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Self harm, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Incest