Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Maldición by Jenni Fagan

8 reviews

dany_casimiro's review against another edition

4.75

Long Story Short: Love to feel this carved hex on my heart.

Hex is a tale about a witch who is about to be hanged and the girl who perhaps travels through time to be with her during her last days. Amazing character build-up woven by a very dark and whimsical narrative, with a poignant social and feminist critique.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Torture, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Violence, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Body horror

charnewb's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Death, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Child death, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Rape

Moderate: Body horror

molthetroll's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Rape, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Death, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Torture

annemaries_shelves's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

An absolutely perfect (albeit dark) read while on vacation in Edinburgh this summer.

It's dark and violent and sad, as we spend 100 pages with Geillis Duncan, a witch imprisoned in 1591 for witchcraft, as she meets with a witch named Iris from the future. Fagan packs a lot in about womanhood, gender expectations and roles, classism and power dynamics, religion, and the culpability of society in allowing these witch burnings to happen. As expected, it gets a little heavy-handed at times, but considering the limitations of a novella (and the beautiful writing), I'm fine with it.

I really appreciated Geillis and Iris's dynamic and relationship - it was lovely to read. 

Definitely recommend as a short, dark read about the realities of witch hunts.

CW: graphic descriptions of torture (including rape), imprisonment, death by hanging.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Torture, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Rape, and Confinement

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Death, and Classism

crazytourists_books's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

3.0

A very sad book that leaves a huge weight on your chest.. 
The idea to let Geillis Duncan tell her story had so much potential, but I think the writer wanted so badly to pinpoint the cruelty, the injustices, the violence of men against women of all time, that it got too didactic, and made the narration weaker...
And let's not forget; we are the daughters and grandaughters of the women they didn't manage to kill, to break, to burn...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Torture

rubybeast47's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Torture, Violence, Hate crime, Child death, Body horror, Blood, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Ableism, and Child abuse

daisyrain98's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.75

Cried and enjoyed

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Abortion, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Miscarriage, Rape, and Sexism

josiee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Rape, Death, and Domestic abuse