Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

60 reviews

antoniav's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Sexual violence, War, and Rape

Moderate: Death, Alcoholism, and Sexism

Minor: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Abortion

doilooklikeamolly's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

This is a marathon of a read! It's incredibly dense with painstaking backstory. I went into it knowing that many reviewers didn't enjoy these perhaps superfluous additions, but as I read I kept thinking to myself "would I have edited this out," and more often than not my answer was no. The interwoven timelines are supported by histories that add complexity to the characters and the way they experience pain, joy, and one another's flaws. The end result is this dynamic, emotional, expertly crafted arc. I recommend it to anyone who loves a slow burn - an opportunity to just steep in the narrative and language.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

There is some sex positive coming of age content, but also brief moments of non-consensual acts under the guise of marital duty.

This includes non-consensual removal of contraceptive device, forced impregnation and mention of abortion.

kmuttschall's review against another edition

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

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

5.0

"Until she dies, she will wonder if she could have persuaded him to come with her. Until she dies, she will remember Eddie's small, dark figure on the ice, waving to her with both arms as she circles up. She will always be afraid that his valedictory gesture might have changed, at some moment when she was too far away to notice, into a plea for her to return."

"She supposes there will be nothing. She supposes each of us destroys the world. We close our eyes and snuff out all that has existed, all that will ever be. But if she could choose, she would ask for a lift. She would want to rise from her body and have it be like when she'd first gone up with Trout, as though she were being held aloft by pure possibility, as though she were about to see everything."

This book is a combination of all of my favourite books (Milkman, Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, East of Eden) while still managing to be its own distinct entity.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Rape

Moderate: War, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Grief, Animal cruelty, Incest, and Pedophilia

Minor: Abortion

lols_cat's review against another edition

adventurous informative inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, War, and Rape

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Sexual violence

laboettcher's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Rape, War, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Alcoholism

heatherilene's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Death, and Rape

honeybeeville's review against another edition

I don’t think was able to include all the triggers I encountered in the first 17% of the book that I did finish. I’m including some specifics below behind spoilers. It’s really unfortunate the directions this book ends up going as the premise is very interesting and could have been explored in a different way.

I had to stop when the book seemed to sexualize a child along with other issues. Very early on, child sexual abuse and the resulting effects of this trauma are described in some detail. I’m not sure why this needed to be included outside of creating a sense of difficulty around the birth of one of the main characters. I persevered after this though it did not feel like it was handled well. Then we come to the main character who is 12 or 13 and being described as very interested in sexual activity to the point of masturbartion being mentioned with an adult man being referenced. That is a hard no for me. Nearly immediately after, a side character/story were mentioned that felt unrelated and also did not seem to be handled well by the author.

After this, I didn’t care what happened next. There was no way I was reading further.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

toothpastefairy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Screaming, crying, and throwing-up throughout. 

Marian is someone who you desperately want to hug and throttle at the same time. Devastating and heartwarming, the novel's end is poignantly built in a way you could not predict from the start. Each character is crafted with care and depth, their lives reach across the pages to brush each other and arrest the reader's heart. 

Overall, brutal and tender.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Abortion, Violence, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, Rape, War, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Death, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, and Gun violence

tiche22h's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence

Minor: Abortion

jazhandz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, War, Alcoholism, Death, and Alcohol

Moderate: Abortion, Rape, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Confinement, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Dementia, and Hate crime