Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

20 reviews

mmp1002's review

dark informative tense slow-paced

3.5

Larson does an excellent job in making the reader feel as the architects and engineers do. Perhaps too good of a job, as the first two-thirds dragged. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, and Child death

rachelsheplak's review

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Gore, Child death, Blood, Abortion, Body horror, Gun violence, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Violence

kingsteph's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Child death, Confinement, Murder, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Xenophobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, Rape, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Suicide, Medical content, and Animal death

kenley11's review

dark informative sad tense medium-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Abortion, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Child death, Death, and Gore

evetoi's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Colonisation, Death, Body horror, and Murder

amsswim's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I'm so glad I finally read this, it has been on my TBR for years now.

I am already a big fan of non-fiction literature and historical reads, this combines the best of them both. This non-fiction book read like fiction in my opinion, making it quick to go by. The many intertwining stories were not difficult to keep track of and all interesting. This is for sure one of those reads that leaves you with a greater understanding of the time period (e.g. 1890s) as a whole, and puts into context the overlap of inventions, important figures, and other legendary events.

If you like historical fiction or non-fiction, true crime, or well written books, I recommend this read.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Murder, Blood, Animal death, Violence, and Death

Minor: Medical content, Misogyny, Child abuse, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Racism, and Sexism

thepeachmartini's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

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

3.25

This was hard for me to get into in the first 1/3 of the book, which is basically the background of the architects and the lead up to starting the building for the fair. There are three stories tangled together. The chapters bounce between the two main stories - the fair itself, and the story of H H Holmes, and the story of Prendergast just feels...out of place. It's tacked onto the end of some of the other chapters; the whole tale could take one chapter if filled with the writers flowery language and over-descriptive explanations. It feels like it was an afterthought... "Hey! it's kinda kooky...let's just squeeze it in here." 

I skimmed a LOT of pages about the architects, their gout, bad teeth, and overall poor health. Once we get to actually building the fair and such, it starts to pick up a bit. Once the fair is in full swing, things are interesting - the exhibits, the events, etc. And of course Holmes' story is interesting and could have easily been a separate book (which may have been a better idea than trying to meld the two). 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Confinement and Abortion

suzquinn97's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Gun violence, Medical content, Child death, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, and Mental illness

Minor: Abortion

headachesince03's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abortion, Alcohol, Misogyny, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Bullying, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Racism, Terminal illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Child death, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Murder

beautifulminutiae's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Child death

Moderate: Abortion, Terminal illness, and Kidnapping