Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

18 reviews

sherlocktomes's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

David Grann back with another excellent blend of informative, entertaining and somewhat reflective writing. 

Highly researched, approachable and balanced, this account details the birth and death of The Wager, a ship in 1700’s Britain tasked with colonising and plundering native and non native peoples to increase the British empires hold over the worlds land and resources.

Grann helps paint a vision of the sheer unrelenting and unpredictable nature of the sea, at times you wonder how much more these sailors can endure, and yet the story carries on. 

As with KOTFM, I felt I would have liked more commitment from the author towards documenting the extent of the genocidal and colonial actions of so many western countries at this time, particularly their treatment of native peoples who, on the whole, were far more intelligent, resourceful and organised than the people who reduced them to a stereotype of “savages”. I do feel more of a background of the British empire as it stood at that time, and their use of the Navy to do so would have been beneficial for giving more context for the average reader. 

Overall, a thorough and very enjoyable read (albeit grim and miserable). 5/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Colonisation, Murder, Child death, Death, Confinement, and Suicide

Moderate: War, Racism, and Slavery

cait's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious sad slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Violence, Vomit, Torture, Abandonment, Animal death, Excrement, Gore, Ableism, Confinement, Classism, Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Medical content, Body horror, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Slavery

marietheo's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative sad tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Slavery, Gore, Medical content, Cannibalism, Torture, Death, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Confinement, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, and War

abicaro17's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring mysterious slow-paced

4.0

This starts out incredibly slow but after chapter 5 grows into a story of mutiny, murder, and survival. You become involved in this insane story of how a British ship and its sailors fight off scurvy, the rough seas, and other crewman to eventually end up back in England depleted and desolate anywhere from a year to five years later. I'm traditionally cautious of non fiction historical books because I find them tedious and boring but, with The Wager, once the initial accounts of send off and troubles at sea are finished, you're immersed into a tumultuous account of the shipwreck. It was interesting and full bodied. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death of parent, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Slavery, Suicide, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

hheartbooks's review against another edition

adventurous informative sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Murder, Slavery, Violence, Cannibalism, Suicide, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

marioosa517's review against another edition

adventurous informative tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Racism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Blood, Gun violence, Death, Murder, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, War, Excrement, Cannibalism, Confinement, Vomit, and Child death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

creativerunnings's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, War, Child death, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Cannibalism

linneak's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, Classism, Medical trauma, War, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Child death, Blood, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Confinement, Torture, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Trafficking, Grief, Slavery, and Colonisation