Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

14 reviews

miggyfool's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Torture, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

solypoly's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

1.5

I feel like this book had the potential to be so much more interesting than it was. Big reveal at the end just doesn’t feel satisfying because it kind of comes out of nowhere and then the book just ends

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, and Violence

hcrawfo3's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual assault, Grief, Pedophilia, Murder, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

cosycourtney's review

fast-paced

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

2.0

Please consider trigger warnings before reading this book. I went into The Maidens with fairly low expectations and indeed find it quite stupid in the end. I really enjoyed the Silent Patient but that was a time before I think I read critically or with conscience. Not to discredit my previous enjoyment but I just can’t turn off that part of my brain anymore (unless it’s fantasy smut x). I’m always very weary of a male author writing about the brutal deaths of young women; even more so when an adult woman is painted as crazy and is casually harassed along the way. Without spoiling the book I’ll just say, only a man would write an ending as such. I don’t think any female with an experience of any similarity would approach such a topic as is explored here. I found the inclusion of weird men like Henry & Fred to be lazy and the fixation on the professor got a bit boring towards the end. The big reveal was only half shocking because and I would have liked a bit more show than tell. Overall, it was fine, if you enjoy a mindless thriller definitely give it a read. If you can’t stand the suffering of women for mindless entertainment, I’d say give it a miss. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Drug use, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, and Grief

marisa_n's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

When I finished the book, I initially had mixed feelings. I loved all the twists and turns. That said, I felt the characters were a little two-dimensional and unbelievable. Moreover, there were some plot holes and loose threads that were never tied up. That said, the more I think about it and read other reviews (especially the complaints) the more I realize the genius of this book. 

I loved the plot twist at the end, as I didn't suspect Zoey. I thought it was Henry or Fred for most of the book. That said, I was left feeling somewhat unsatisfied with the explanation, but was having trouble articulating why it didn't make sense. It wasn't until I started reading the negative reviews and all the plot holes that these astute readers were referring to that I realized the genius of this book:

all of the characters were unreliable narrators.

There was Mariana, who clearly had a blind spot when it came to recognizing the signs of toxic and/or dangerous people. From her brushing off the dangerous implications of a client stalking her. Her instance that her father was a good man, despite his neglecting her as a child. Her poor character judgment with her niece, despite others implying she was unlikeable. Her memories of Sebastian as a romantic, nurturing man, despite something nefarious happening behind the scenes. Her openness to pursuing something romantic with Fred in the end, despite his love bombing and over-stepping boundaries--which, as a therapist, she should have recognized as a red flag. Mariana clearly is a poor judge of character and has questionable judgment in general. 

Then there was Sebastian, who supposedly wrote the journal entries throughout the book. His journal entries were dark, and very unlike how Mariana described him. They also left unanswered questions. Did he kill his mother, or did she just leave and never come back? It's unclear, but it's suggested that he killed her and then rewrote the memory as a dream.

Then there is Zoe, whose "motive" includes details that are clearly at odds with Mariana's recollection of events. How could Sebastian have gotten with Mariana just to get to Zoe if he didn't meet the child until well into the relationship? How could he be in love with Zoe from the moment he saw her if she was just a young child when they met? Sure, he could have been a pedophile, but pedophiles tend to have a preferred age range, and he didn't sexually abuse Zoe until she was 15. Lastly, Zoe claims Sebastian strangled Mariana's father, but Mariana said he died of a heart attack--and what medical professional would mix up the two causes of death? Not to mention the weirdness with the Maidens / Fosca viewing Zoe as one of them, despite her saying she'd only joined them one time. Basically, nothing she said could be taken at face value. 

Therefore, this isn't so much of a "whodunit" so much as a web of unreliable narratives to untangle. It left me with so many questions. For starters, how much of Zoe's story about the affair (read: sexual abuse) and subsequent murder plot was real?

My interpretation was that Sebastian had a history of physical (maybe sexual?) abuse at the hands of his father. He likely murdered his mother as revenge for trying to abandon him. He grew up to be a dangerous man, repeating the cycle of abuse. Mariana was blinded by love and only saw what she wanted to see (a doting husband). Sebastian sexually abused Zoe, but it was probably opportunistic and did not start until she was older (13ish?). Zoe was a young girl who was groomed and abused by a father figure, and then created a narrative of forbidden love to make sense of the trauma. Sebastian fed into her delusions by swearing one day he would leave and/or kill Mariana so they could be together. When he died, Zoe wanted to kill Mariana, her mother figure, to get revenge for taking away Sebastian, but also for shattering her delusion of him. The Greek tragedy theme really plays in nicely here with reference to adult-minor relationships, abusive father figures, revenge, fate, sorrow, etc. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Sexual violence, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Murder, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

lackingshelfcontrol's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Stalking, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, and Death of parent

louisegraveyard's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Death of parent, Child abuse, Misogyny, Death, Gore, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, and Suicide attempt

_carly_'s review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual harassment

glutenfreemaggie's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Kept me guessing, but eh… The Silent Patient was way better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Stalking, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, and Violence

crosberg's review

dark sad slow-paced

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

2.0

Another disappointing thriller/mystery.  The book is only 330 pages and there's only one core mystery with several murders and acts of violence so I don't know how the author managed to make it feel slow, but he did.  Without spoilers or going too much into detail, the overwhelming feeling of this book is that the author really doesn't like women, and his male characters are showing exactly how.  The main character was a female therapist, and she did have a few female colleagues/mentors to rely on, plus all of the victims were female.  But somehow the only people who had any personality were all men and most of them treated the women in their lives callously at best, abusively at worst.  Gaslighting and "there, there dear let the men handle it" patronizing is rampant with all but one of the male characters, who the main character seems to fall in love with after he's simply kind to her for about 30 seconds.  I was so distracted by the absolutely flat, passive women and the terrible, violent men that I became utterly disinterested in the actual mystery.  What's worse is that the author treats sexual assault, child abuse, and trauma with a casualness that made my skin crawl.  Forget the actual murderer, I'd be uncomfortable interacting with the author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, and Adult/minor relationship