Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner

4 reviews

lovelymisanthrope's review

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I picked up a copy of this book at a library book sale.
"The Mars Room" follows Romy Hall, a woman who is about to start to serve her two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women's Correctional Facility. Romy was forced to grant custody of her young son, Jackson, to her mother, and she is really struggling with this new reality of her life.
One thing that I think is important to note about this book is how it highlights how unfair the United States justice system can be. Did Romy deserve to be punished for what she did? Yes, she made a poor choice and there should be consequences, but the judge and jury only ever got one side of the story. Why did Romy do what she did? Does she really deserve to go away for life because her free attorney advised her not to take the stand? I do not think this is fair, and it depicts a fatal flaw in the justice system for those who cannot afford their own council.
This book also depicts how cruel cops and prison guards can be to inmates. I am sure it is a difficult job, and it probably takes a lot out of a person to see some of the worst in humanity day after day, but not every person who goes to prison is "bad" or deserves to be there. They are all people too, and showing a little compassion can go a long way.
This book just did not do a whole lot for me outside of sparking some thoughts about prison and our justice system. For someone in prison, I thought Romy's narrative was pretty dry, and there was something in the tone of the novel that I could not connect with. While I was reading this book, I felt like someone was telling me about this book, not that I was actually reading it.
There are chapters throughout the novel that follow other characters in the book, and I did not think that was necessary or added much to the story. Romy could have had a strong enough story on her own, and especially the narratives of men on the outside really took me out of the story.
This book felt very "meh" to me, but if you are curious to read a novel about a protagonist in prison, this might be the story for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy

alisonfaith426's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Transphobia, Violence, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Moderate: Rape, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Deadnaming, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts

lpdx's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Transphobia, Violence, Animal cruelty, Grief, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Addiction, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Blood, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Medical content, Misogyny, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Death of parent and Car accident

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I found it difficult to get into this book. The writing is choppy, it switches timeframes often, later it switches perspectives without notice, all of which serve to make it hard to follow. It’s for lack of a better word, chaotic. I felt for the characters because their stories are all stories of misfortune and loss. Although all of the women are prisoners who did heinous things, you can’t help but feel for them, because of the circumstances that led them to the bad deeds they committed. The ending made me sad — I hoped for a better outcome for the protagonist than the one she got. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Outing, Drug use, Death, Confinement, Blood, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Animal death, Biphobia, Police brutality, Murder, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Grief, Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Deadnaming, Colonisation, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Sexism, Racism, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse