Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

157 reviews

imogenlj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

When I finished this I felt like I'd been punched in my diaphragm- it's devastating, righteous and empathetic, yet hopeful. I felt tense the entire time I was reading. I want to push this into the hands of anyone fascinated with True Crime and say 'Look! It's not about the killers!' It doesn't dwell too much on anything but this is a dark book so check trigger warnings if you're keen to avoid something.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Grief, Murder, Child death, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Self harm, Drug abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, Racism, and Sexual assault

angelaainnes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Abandonment

upshawsg's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Besides the occasional overuse of the word “sour”, Danya was able to spin a haunting story about the impact a serial killer has had on the women in his life. Finished it in 2 days and I’m still thinking about it long after reading the final pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Rape

_booksandbells's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death, and Mental illness

emmehooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Misogyny

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Grief

Minor: Animal cruelty, Stalking, and Suicide

bee_isreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Death, Stalking, Domestic abuse, and Abandonment

biblioglot's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The books storytelling and execution were very well-done. I appreciated the rotating perspectives and how each character saw a different side of Ansel, including Ansel himself. I found it interesting that there’s an element of redemption for some of the characters and a stark lack for others. It really feels like the darker side of life, where things aren’t fair and not everyone gets their happily ever after. 

This book is not for the faint of heart. It is deeply triggering and is depressing at times. The narration paints a grey setting with very few lighthearted points in the plot. It needs a heavy trigger warning. I need a much lighter read after this one 😅 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Murder, Pregnancy, and Domestic abuse

greenclovers75's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Grief, Abandonment, Death, and Murder

emma_ekb's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

“There are millions of men out there who want to hurt women—people seem to think that Ansel Packer is extraordinary, because he actually did.” 

wowwwwwwww. i couldn’t put this book down. the story is essentially a critique of modern true crime narratives: the story of a serial killer, told primarily through the women who knew him or survived him. 

other key themes/questions: 
- what is the line between good and evil? can one person ever truly be just evil, or just good?
- nature v. nurture: how much does our past define our future?
- how do our individual choices affect the course of our lives and in turn, the course of history?
- what is justice? is achieving or finding justice even possible?
- how do we as a society treat victims? 
- who remembers us when we’re gone? how can we be remembered without those who love us?

the author writes with such precision and poetry - i just love the way she describes things and how she seems to capture so many tiny details in so few words. more than anything, this book made me think. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Stalking, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism

savreads28's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Confinement, Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Death, Sexual violence, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Mental illness, Rape, Pregnancy, and Sexual content