Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee

9 reviews

saskiahill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Abortion, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

marla_arguelles's review against another edition

dark fast-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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Blood, Medical content, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

debitoni's review

David, the POV character was just awful. His view and treatment of women was disgraceful, the last straw was how he was describing and sexualising his daughter. Not how I want to spend my time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, and Emotional abuse

slowlychloe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Abortion

chloe_hazel's review

challenging dark reflective medium-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? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

oddreads_nicolestins's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

TL;DR: Not for me.

I'd generally heard great things about Coetzee- so this was a disappointment. Overall the story is not light material. Heavy themes are discussed: sexual assault, consent, traditions/cultural norms surrounding SA as well as the in aftermath.

The MC is a misogynist/classist/predator that gets obsessed easily about the flings he has with everyone but his ex-wife. Because he's the narrator, he explains to us very casually how he stalked the sex worker he frequented, and then how he sexually assaulted one of his students. Creep factor 1000%. So by the time his own daughter gets sexually assaulted, it feels like his karma in a way. (In NO way am I saying that those who've been SA'd deserve it, or that it was "coming to them", but this is how Coetzee has laid out the cards in my opinion. The assailants are at fault, of course. I am not a fan of this narrative.) The rest of the book addresses the narrow-minded MC as he reckons with the situation regarding his daughter, which actually does not amount to much reckoning at all. Other things, like the MC aggressively referring to a female dog as a "bitch" repeatedly in the book (I honestly lost count at the occurrences, 5-10 or more), and describing/comparing his daughter's grown woman body to other women he's known *vomit* really made me want to dnf. I was only invested in his daughter's situation and what happened next.

The writing wasn't bad, but it just wasn't for me. Because it left a bad taste in my mouth, I'm also not interested in reading anymore of Coetzee's work to see what the hubbub is about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Sexual assault, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Sexual content, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Confinement, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

leonormsousa's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Abortion, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

librarymouse's review

challenging emotional reflective 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

I have so many feelings and questions about this book. It's so beautifully written. I caught some of the extra detail in the book, but I know there are hundreds of details and references sewn into the book that I've missed on this first read through. One instance that was particularly impactful was the mention of verbena and jonquil on page 177 and pine on page 178, after his visit with the Isaacs. Their respective meanings of prayer or a request to pray for an individual; forgiveness or a desire that affection be returned; and endurance, piety, and hope in adversity add so much to the characterization of David, yet the description of flowers scenting the air fits so neatly into the scene setting that they could comfortably be ignored. David Lurie is intensely easy to dislike, yet there are instances in which he is not quite redeemed, but is humanized and brought out of his self-reflective/self centered stupor. He has a main character complex to the point of near delusion. Despite his continual fall towards lust, he does seem to learn something, though I'm not sure what. He learns loss and grief, learns that he is incapable of compromise in many ways but is capable of letting go of what he cannot control. Coetzee does a fantastic job with these characters and their individual and collective shames.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Colonisation

Minor: Abortion and Lesbophobia

lettucelaugh's review

challenging dark emotional funny fast-paced

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

4.75

This book is told from the perspective of David Lurie, a self-proclaimed womanizer. He's a misogynist, a stubborn, delusional old man who is exceptionally unlikable, and whose actions left me with secondhand embarrassment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment