Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Naiset puhuvat by Miriam Toews

51 reviews

theelizabethjoy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

4.0

TW: rape, sexual abuse, physical abuse 

This book was extremely difficult to read, not only because of the subject matter, or due to the fact that I have been a victim of rape and sexual abuse, but because of how it was written. 
I do think it is a story that needed to be told, that needs to be experienced. If you have been a victim, make sure you are in a decent headspace before reading this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Self harm, Vomit, Physical abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Incest, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, and Stalking

laschwe's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Incest and Suicide

gabberjaws's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

 

“No, Ernie, says Agata, there’s no plot, we’re only women talking.”

I think my biggest problem is that I still can’t articulate what I expected from this book.

This is loosely based on a truly horrific real life acts that took place in a Mennonite community from 2005-2009, and the book sells itself on that. So I went into this expecting something revolutionary and poignant.

The women talking was, in and of itself revolutionary, true. And watching them hold on to their faith while coming to terms with the horrible things that had happened to them was impactful. But like I said, the book sells itself on the real life events, and I think I wanted more from this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, and Suicide

crosberg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is the best book I've read this year (so far).  I'm glad I went in knowing the basic plot, because it definitely deserves a bunch of content warnings and isn't for the faint of heart.  But both the writing itself and the structure, how the story was told, were absolutely masterful.  The perspective choices, the character backgrounds, the jokes and small details, every single choice that Toews made elevates it to the absolute height of what the book is capable of.  The pacing is perfect, tight without being unforgiving.  When I finished reading it I had to lay down on the floor and stare at the ceiling for a while so I could process.  An absolute masterpiece.  But please please do pay attention to the content warnings, this book speaks about some of the most difficult subjects I've ever read about in a book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexism, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual content

jessbrownette's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Incest, Grief, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Death

nkk1017's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

liblibby's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

ldandridge's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

A powerful story, and I really enjoyed the format of it being a record of their conversation over two days. Like others have said, though, I question the efficacy of telling this story through a man's perspective. Overall I really liked this and it will definitely sit with me for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Sexism

nickoliver's review against another edition

reflective 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

This is a hard book to rate. I found it to be a frustrating read for the most part, because the women discussed things that were quite obvious in my eyes, and they also talked in circles a lot. The crimes committed to these women and their families were just horrendous, and the fact that they had to actively think about doing anything about it was so weird to me. Like, of course you shouldn't ignore what happened and keep living with men who literally raped a three-year-old. You should do something about it. And the fact that they just kept wondering, 'Yeah, but won't God send us to Hell if we leave and don't forgive the men?' made me want to fling myself off a cliff. I know my relationship with religion is different, but Jesus, who the fuck wants to believe in a God who'd let rapists into heaven and punish women for being raped? 

However, I feel like I have to take a step back when it comes to this book. After all, I grew up in a household that was Catholic on paper but mostly atheistic in practice. I didn't live in a patriarchal colony that taught me from the moment I developed a conscience that I had nothing to offer but my ability to make babies. Of course, if you grow up in a colony that's completely shut off from the world and you have no education, can't write, can't read, wouldn't even be able to pinpoint your town on a map, your take on things will be different. It's always easier to be on the outside of things and judge people on the inside. So, I think I have to think about that first before giving this book a bad rating based on my frustration with the women.

Though to be fair, I also wasn't a fan of the rest of the book. Like I said, the women kept talking in circles, so that made it a bit boring. I also had a hard time telling the women apart and knowing their relationships to each other; I kept mixing them up with each other. Plus, the person who kind of "narrated" the story was a man, and he often either went off on tangents about his own life or talked about his love for one of the women, and those parts just didn't feel like they should've been in the story? For a book called "Women Talking", it sure concentrated a lot on a man. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, and Rape

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, and Dementia

stevie's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Incest, and Domestic abuse