Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Women of Troy by Pat Barker

22 reviews

heuteschongekurtet's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Vomit, Child death, Cursing, Misogyny, Animal death, Blood, Death, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Rape, Grief, War, Sexual harassment, and Slavery

cosycourtney's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

The books in Pat Barker’s Troy series always pleasantly surprise me. They are not really the genre I naturally gravitate towards but Silence Of The Girls and now Women Of Troy were both astounding reads. Anyone who is a fan of Madeline Miller honestly must also read these books. I would easily recommend the Troy series over Song Of Achilles because  it once again centers women in a story that typical surrounds the actions of men. I liked the way Women Of Troy had a more diverse range of female experience and highlights the varying natures of survival, anger and acceptance of the fate of the women in our story. It really mirrored similar experiences we still face in modern day world where female experience, feminism and fighting against the patriarchy exists in many different ways. Barker writes in such an accessible way with subtle contextual hints throughout her work. There is no huge expectation that you have to be a Trojan expert in order to enjoy the story. Despite a quite a large cast of characters, our women are deeply developed; their connections to one another solid & clear. Upon finishing Women Of Troy I found out there is a third Troy novel coming next year focusing on Cassandra, a character I really wanted more from so I can’t wait—knowing this now it feels like the tease of her potential abundance was intentional. This book only lost 1 star from me because some of the chapter were from a male’s POV and while I know it was essential to the story they were my least favourite chapters. Can’t wait for more Pat Barker in future! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

scarlett4's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Pregnancy, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and War

jenilew's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Blood, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Suicide, Sexual violence, Slavery, and War

booksbutmakeitgay's review against another edition

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Blood, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, and Vomit

nicolaparty's review against another edition

dark sad tense 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexism, Slavery, Alcohol, Murder, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and War

Moderate: Confinement and Rape

saoirsebb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Suicide, Violence, Child death, Kidnapping, Murder, Misogyny, Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Torture

icarusandthesun's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.0

After devouring and loving the first volume (The Silence Of the Girls) of this series, I was positive I'd adore this one just as much as its prequel.
... but sadly, I didn't.

The story wasn't as captivating as I expected it to be. I suppose that makes sense, though - that the Trojan War is more exciting than its aftermath. Still, I had hoped for something more scandalous, more dangerous, more mythical.

The Women of Troy was an enjoyable read, but - there I say it - boring and forgettable. Pat Barker did a good job capturing the women's suffering, even after the war has ended, and the men's dilemma with the lack of wind that was supposed to carry them home after a long and suffocating war. But it wasn't much more than that.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Death, Murder, Blood, and Physical abuse

Minor: Child death

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

I’m usually hesitant to pick up sequels, but I’m really glad I read this one.
“The Women of Troy” follows Bresis after Troy has fallen, though the Greeks are not able to return home quite yet. The Gods are angered, resulting in impossible sailing weather and rising tensions. But above all, we see the trojan girls/women forced into slavery, telling a story of those left out in the epics.
Bresis character arc took a significant shift from “Silence of the Girls,” as she is no longer a slave, but the wife of a Greek fighter and the mother of Achillies baby. While her station is improved, Breisis finds her internalized conflict emphasized, because no matter how far she has come, slavery always seems to loom behind her. 
The feminism aspect of this book was phenomenal, and all women got their turn in the spotlight, even if Breisis was telling the story. I appreciated how Breisis tried to understand Helen and didn’t continuously slut shame her as other retelling tend to do. 
I did wonder, however, why Barker chose to include perspectives of the men in the duology, since the purpose was to explore experiences of the women.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Blood

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, and Kidnapping

itsdanibee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and War

Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Vomit