Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Galatea by Madeline Miller

113 reviews

cviii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Body shaming, Confinement, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual content

caterina_1212's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.0

Just what we need, another version of The Awakening.  And again, the husband is 🤮

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault, Confinement, and Forced institutionalization

anneroza's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Confinement, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Death of parent, Medical content, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

thesawyerbean's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

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

2.5

This was an interesting short story with a poignant message about misogyny and patriarchal ‘ownership’ within the scope of Greek myth. 

I did however think the voice was strange and alien to the context - it read more like a contemporary than a myth retelling, which isn’t necessarily a problem but made it read rather weirdly. 

The afterword in this edition was amazing for explaining how Madeline Miller came about writing this adaptation and the discourse she intended to portray.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Abortion, Medical content, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Cursing, and Sexual content

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

An enjoyable short story from Miller! I love her writing and she’s an auto buy author for me.

I went into the story blindly, not knowing the myth that inspired it. At first it was slightly confusing but overall I loved the way Miller told this story. Even with just 49 pages, she managed to capture me and create a whole world separate from her other works. As always her writing style is well done and beautifully showcased.

If you enjoy myth retellings and short stories, I’d recommend Galatea! Also even though it’s a short read, there’s still quite a few triggers so be careful going into this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion

kayladaila's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Medical content, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Pedophilia

Minor: Pregnancy

adoto's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad fast-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicide, Sexual violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexism

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

tetedump's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

belladonnashrike's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

god I wish this was a whole book, such a stunning short story 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abortion, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Body shaming and Cursing

laurendenton's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.5

The short story Galatea is mediocre at best, a quippy feminist piece that seems as though it was written by anyone but Madeline Miller. On it's own, I would probably give it a 3-star rating. It was okay. It kept me entertained for about half an hour and sucked me in, sure, but the story itself lacked depth. The extra 0.5 stars comes from the Afterword by Miller included at the end, which details the history of Galatea's story and the ways in which she had shaped the character into a more straight-forward and feminist individual. I personally found this section of the book the most intriguing - seeing the way that Madeline Miller was able to take a sparse and misogynistic story about women and their relationship to male desire, and crafted her into a badass heroine who risks it all to grant her daughter freedom. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, and Misogyny

Moderate: Death, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicide, Abortion, Cursing, and Death of parent