Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Die Gesetzlose by Anna North

72 reviews

ninareads_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia

Moderate: Murder

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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

2.5

I think the premise is great - women in the western part of the U.S (I’m assuming mostly Texas & other surrounding states) during the 1800’s disguising themselves as cowboys to steal from those that are against them. Sign me up ! But it’s a little
more complicated than that and despite this book being less than 300 pages, this is one of the few times where I felt the book could have been longer to even out the pacing. I definitely felt Salem Witch Trial vibes but I think the author wanted to do a lot in a short time frame - it felt confusing towards the middle. Ada’s growth as a person was on the right track but I wish there had been enough attention on the other group’s character development as well. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Racism, Pregnancy, Outing, Misogyny, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Grief, Death, and Abandonment

eleanora's review against another edition

adventurous fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Sexism, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Racism, Mental illness, Medical content, and Infidelity

Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

hannahr's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Outing, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Animal death and Grief

nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition

2.25

Ostensibly set in a mostly-dystopian 1894 Texas town that places a premium on women's ability to bear children and suspects infertile women of witchcraft, this book is narrated by Ada, a seventeen-year-old wife and midwife's apprentice who has been exiled from her community after a year of marriage with no child. Passionate about science and serving women, Ada finds herself in the company of the Hole in the Wall gang, a group of outlawed outsiders with a flexible and fluid approach to gender, love, sex, and justice. 

This feminist take on a Western novel, filled with crime, adventure, and challenging authority, was certainly creative, but I was quite the right audience for it. Indeed, I was so distracted by the references to race, doctors, baby Jesus, the Flu and Fever, and the seeming dissolution of the United States that I was almost more focused on trying to figure out whether this was a dystopian alternative history (a Confederate win in the Civil War?) or a dystopian future (post COVID-19?), and I'm honestly still confused. 

I also was pretty confused by the role of religion and by all of the characters. There were many, each with a painful background, but none was particularly well-developed, and the sub-plots detracted rather than added to the story. The one exception to this, in my opinion, was Lark's story, which surprised and intrigued me, but he, too, was an underdeveloped character who stuck around too briefly. 

I appreciate the reviewer who acknowledged that this book offers a different take on the Hole in the Wall gang. I had no idea that this gang was a real concept and really disappointed that there was no Author's Note explaining that research and that choice (which guess means this is an alt-history novel?). 

I picked this up because I needed a quick read to help propel me out of a slump (too many classics in a row/at a time can do that to you), and it was definitely successful in that respect. The story was engaging enough and kept me turning the pages for the few hours that this took to finish, but ultimately, I think Anna North bit off more than she could chew--infertility, religion, feminism, justice, gender fluidity, insomnia, mental health, medicine, mothering, Western adventure--and it really didn't work for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Sexual content, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical content, Infidelity, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, and Abortion

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

emsim's review against another edition

sad tense medium-paced

The Handmaid's Tale but make it a western, with a dash of Station Eleven.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Violence, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical content, Infertility, Homophobia, Hate crime, Grief, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Abortion, and Ableism

womanwill's review against another edition

adventurous sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Fun and adventurous to read--I will certainly be keeping an eye out for other feminist westerns. However, the story lacked depth in both character development and world-building. The backstories of the fellow outlaws were lacking. I understand the need to let pieces on information come in slowly, but for some reason the characters all felt like they were at an arm's distance. North also piqued my interest by mentioning a "Flu" that devastated the U.S. but never fully investigated this and its effects on the outlaws, the U.S. and the story.  Lastly, for how this novel was pitched in marketing, the idea of queerness, gender-bending, and found family was not nearly investigated well enough. North does nothing but scratch the surface of these topics, potentially causing harm in the process.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, and Torture

Minor: Abortion, Rape, and Transphobia

keeley's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Medical content, and Infertility

Moderate: Blood, Animal death, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Racism, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, and Medical trauma

rigbees's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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? No

4.0

A barren woman flees first to a convent, then to a life as an outlaw in this novel set in the 1890s midwest US. The story that follows is a gripping outlaw tale, filled with disguises, wagon chases, and living life as a wanted criminal sought by multiple towns. It also is a story about a close-knit group of women and trans masc people trying to find identities when they'd been kicked out by towns that raised them. It portrays a complex life that doesn't gloss over the struggles of survival, while also valuing what it means to survive outside the norm. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Abortion, Racism, Infertility, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, Suicide, Self harm, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, Rape, Police brutality, and Pedophilia

shelbo's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

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

4.0

I raced through this book. It has so many compelling themes (alternate history, religious extremism, feminist take on classic Westerns) and really interesting characters who bring the themes to life. Really enjoyed it overall, but the ending felt a little too hastily wrapped up to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Medical trauma, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Transphobia and Homophobia

Minor: Domestic abuse