Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

41 reviews

orlagal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and War

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

 

“When a war was ended, the men lost their lives. But the women lost everything else.”

Homer’s <i>Iliad</i> has inspired generations of epic tales: tales of war, rage, violence, and glory. But these tales have been told primarily by and about men. In <i>A Thousand Ships</i>, Haynes asks: What about the women? Many of their stories have been told, yes, but as footnotes or backstories for the “real” heroes: the men. But why should heroism be confined to the battlefield? The women of Troy lose everything, but must find the courage to continue. Penelope waits for her husband for 20 years, but uses her wit to escape her suitors and stay loyal and true to her husband. 

As a rule, I prefer my stories with happy endings. I went into this book knowing that I wouldn’t get one, and worried that that would ruin the story for me, but it didn’t. The stories were told so beautifully and the endings so inevitable that I loved each one of them (even as I cried for the lost). I’ve read a lot of really incredible mythology-inspired books this year, and this was definitely one of my favorites!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Minor: Alcohol, Incest, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

emotional

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Torture, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, and Death of parent

charla_t's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide

mariah13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, Rape, Slavery, and War

ska1224's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexual harassment, Slavery, and Trafficking

laneport's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Violence, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Murder, Pedophilia, Mental illness, and Blood

ehmannky's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

I love a good mythology retelling and this one is excellent. I thought I would find it jarring, jumping back and forth between so many different characters with so little time between them, but it works so well. And Haynes just renders each part of the war so heartbreaking. The strong points definitely revolve around the human women, with the parts about the goddesses being interesting and fun to read, but not nearly as compelling. I loved how the solemn nature of the book is broken with Penelope's wry humor in her letters to Odysseus. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Violence, Slavery, Xenophobia, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, and Genocide

Moderate: Suicide and Blood

fancygirlsreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Child death, and Blood

whatcassiedid's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I discovered this book from the Let's Talk About Myths, Baby podcast (highly recommend) and it filled the Song of Achilles shaped hole in my heart. Haynes beautifully tells the stories of the women involved in the Trojan war who have been forgotten or mistreated by the retellings over the years. Each woman is so different and well fleshed out, and I particularly loved the use of Calliope to move between the stories.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, and Slavery