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Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
6 reviews
knkoch's review against another edition
3.75
I really liked that David Grann gave great context into the Indigenous tribes the men from this ship interacted with and the impact that naval expeditions had on them and all others in South and North America in the eighteenth century especially. It felt like he was resetting the image of journeys like these, moving away from glory and adventure into the grinding hardship, weaknesses of leadership, imperial greed, racist assumptions of superiority/inferiority, and endless jockeying between major European empires like Spain and England. Grann developed the historical characters well, and clearly established how naval honor codes, class, and rank influenced the events at sea and land. Shocked to learn that
Graphic: Terminal illness, Eating disorder, Murder, Body horror, Medical content, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Gun violence, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Xenophobia
Minor: Cannibalism
Eating disorder: Much discussion of starvation, but not sure what TW may fit better.gringolet's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, Death, Alcohol, Violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
theabee's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Terminal illness and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Slavery, War, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Animal death, Colonisation, and Murder
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
5.0
The story of the Wager is heartbreaking and amazing, with falliable human ingenuity and the unrelenting power of hope coming up against the forces of nature, disease, delerium, and himan depravity.
I really enjoyed Grann's writing. He made the story feel engaging as a living narrative rather than a historical account. I also appreciated how he took the time to call out the intrisic racism and imperialist motives of the venture. He made space for the indigenous peoples of South America, the African slave trade, and even class divides amongst the British.
I was mainly surprised by how the court martial ended, and I appreciated Grann's discussion of why it went the way it did.
Overall, a fantastic book.
Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Animal death, War, Medical content, Violence, Chronic illness, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Murder, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Torture, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Slavery, Child death, and Cannibalism
alisonvh's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Colonisation, Animal death, Death, Child death, Violence, Terminal illness, Murder, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Chronic illness
Minor: Cannibalism
klbreyfogle's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Colonisation, Death, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal death and Murder