Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

60 reviews

alomie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

So, I really loved the parts about Marian Graves from her perspective, but the Parts about Hadley really ruined this book for me and I would have rather not had the spoiler at the end and the epilogue I felt gave a neat ending but I think I would have liked not to know to be left with the option of deciding for myself. 

I really felt for Marian stuck in a time that was not ready for her. She was a trail blazer and although flawed she did all she could despite her circumstances to make her dreams a reality. 

Hadley on the other hand felt thin maybe vapid, and unable to make a good decision to save herself. She redeemed herself in the latter half of the book but by then I found I could not get behind her. 

Overall I liked this book and its worth a read but I really can't forgive half the story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Violence, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Abortion, Pregnancy, Grief, and Death

anapthine's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, War, Death, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Alcohol, Blood, and Eating disorder

Minor: Murder, Antisemitism, and Gun violence

vikkom's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This piece of fiction HITS on so many levels once it's finished. Judging by my engagement at the start I was definitely not expecting how many moments throughout that I would read a sentence and just sit there and stare and ponder, or bookmark to write down once I get up after keeping on reading. 

I thought this book was going to be about this random lady Marian Graves attempting a north-south circumnavigation, and the fictional actress Hadley being fascinated and throwing herself into the history of Marian in preparation for the role. The book is about that, but I'd say that it's only about 10% that. 

The rest of the book is about Marian Graves, and the people she loved and loved her, from before birth, to death; it is about Hadley, the starlet, and her journey with the pressures of hollywood, acting, falling in lust, and being... drawn to Marian and also knowing and feeling uncomfortable with the fact that the Marian she is playing is almost entirely reconstructed. 

This book paints the sweeping arc of Marian's life, and the lives of the people that were most important to her. It deals with feeling multiple, contradictory feelings at once; it deals with estrangement from people you love; it deals with loving people and yet hating them; it deals with queer love in the 40s and 50s; it deals with the what-could-have-beens while acknowledging that sequences of events have a certain inevitability and circularity; and overall, it deals with the messy and complex and less-than-idyllic ways that humans connect. Lives are lived, opportunities are lost. People die. We go on.

N.B. one thing I would say though, is that it took me over half of the book (no small feat, it's a solid 300 pages) to actually get *into* the story. I think mainly because I wasn't expecting a grand sweeping whole-of-life tale, but the book comes around in a nice circle, once I realised that was what it was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and War

Moderate: Suicide, Blood, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Hate crime

Minor: Abortion and Child death

empeddle's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Very good, liked the book but was a little underwhelmed towards the end. It felt very similar to The Seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo (the two women definitely give off those vibes). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Abortion and Homophobia

nialiversuch's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Addiction, War, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, Homophobia, Gun violence, Grief, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Alcoholism, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Suicide, and Mental illness

Minor: Infidelity

sib_reads's review against another edition

adventurous reflective slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Death of parent, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

Moderate: Abortion, Hate crime, Homophobia, Abandonment, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Incest, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Excrement, Infertility, Pedophilia, Racism, and Xenophobia

autlinbustler's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Death of parent, and Adult/minor relationship

bookswithgeorgia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Death of parent, War, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Adult/minor relationship

mirireads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

Minor: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, and Medical content

nadia's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

This felt like a few different types of books wrapped up in one novel, in a good way, though I definitely had a preference order! Overall, I really enjoyed the different styles and the writing was wonderful! I felt transported and Maggie Shipstead has a wonderful way of describing landscapes. Normally such content can bore me easily, but not in this book!

One where you’ll be thinking about the characters and their stories long after. Shipstead wrote the book in such a way that you’d be surprised they weren’t real!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, War, and Rape

Moderate: Abortion, Death, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy