Reviews tagging 'Torture'

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

12 reviews

ahoyitsjoy's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative tense medium-paced

3.0

This book was clearly meticulously researched and features many quotes from firsthand accounts. The events are delivered in a clear and unbiased manner. 

However... I just don't think this was my kind of book. I've seen a lot of people recommend this book to those who loved Endurance, as I did, but The Wager is significantly more grim in a way that didn't make me want to read more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, Animal death, and Blood

Moderate: Torture, Body horror, Racism, Colonisation, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Slavery

tigerkind's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

3.5

Quite an interesting read not only about a tale of (mis)adventure but also about the importance seafaring had in shaping the world. 

On a side note; I recommend looking up Wager Island on Maps after reading for a bit of a laugh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, War, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Body horror, Animal death, Colonisation, Torture, Confinement, and Murder

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child death, Alcohol, and Xenophobia

Minor: Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Vomit, and Slavery

dogswithnogs's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Colonisation, Death, and Xenophobia

Minor: Slavery, Torture, and Animal death

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

daughterofatom's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative medium-paced

4.0

I enjoyed this. I appreciate the authors non judgemental perspective, never casting blame or guilt on any party, and keeps first hand accounts of native people in perspective. It's a tale of mutiny and horrible situations, but you never think "dang what a villain", you see the motivations of each party and are given ample details about the people to not just see them as pawns. They all had families at home they hoped to return to, some were on their first voyage, some were seasoned enough to doubt some choices. Great read for anyone looking to learn about 1700s seafaring, British navy shenanigans, or for folks looking for empathetic compelling tales of souls stuck in a true no win scenario 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Colonisation, and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, War, Gun violence, Genocide, and Animal death

Minor: Medical content, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Classism, Excrement, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Trafficking, and Racism

kshertz's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

It’s pretty fascinating how this shipwreck went down. I can’t imagine the amount of research and work went into this! I came in with super high expectations! I learned a lot about survival and pirates that’s for sure. But it was a lot of info and I zoned out when it got into too much detail. But also I’m not extremely into pirates? It’s probably a book for those who want to know about survival and human nature when stranded

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Body horror, Gun violence, Animal death, Gore, Murder, Torture, Blood, Violence, Cannibalism, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

4.0

Hard to imagine how much time and reattach must’ve gone into writing this book. An impressive feat on that basis alone. A marvelous recreation of what happened and lots of history to learn. Curious that the island is still called Wager Island instead of whatever the indigenous call it, but that’s part of the story too. Was fascinated by Lord John Byron’s role. Had only ever known him as a poet. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Murder, Animal death, Colonisation, and Gore

bibliomania_express's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann is a gripping and thought-provoking account of the voyage and shipwreck of HMS Wager in the 1740s. Drawing on primary sources and thorough archival research, Grann reconstructs the hardships of the voyage from before the ships set sail, through its perilous journey, shipwreck, mutiny, and court-martial. If you are squeamish about descriptions of disease and death, take care, but I do think Grann tow the lines of factual without going into excessive details. 

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.
 

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Content Warnings

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

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