Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Women of Troy by Pat Barker

16 reviews

quinn22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, Murder, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Child death, Torture, Physical abuse, Sexism, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Genocide, Miscarriage, Grief, Death, and Deportation

Minor: Torture, Dementia, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Fatphobia, Confinement, Cursing, Grief, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, War, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child death, Incest, Colonisation, Infidelity, Self harm, Violence, and Xenophobia

karo_lin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Vomit, and War

unboxedjack's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

I wanted to like this given how much I enjoyed the first book, but…ugh. None of the characters were captivating nor was the plot. Moments of drama and philosophical contemplation made the book readable–especially amidst multiple uses of the r****** slur (how did THAT get past editors?)–but it has nothing to really grab me. The book had promise, but fell so short.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Slavery, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, War, Child death, Confinement, and Pregnancy

lionelle's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, War, Violence, Torture, and Confinement

Minor: Body shaming and Fatphobia

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

sb_037's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.75

Was struck by how Pat Barker is able to do justice to a "feminist re-telling" by including actually complex women insomuch that they actually disagree with each other on how best to survive in their given circumstances. Pat Barker humanizes her characters and doesn't let you forget about the atrocities her women have had to face - reminding her readers continually that the pregnancy Briseis bears is wrought with confusion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and War