Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

82 reviews

anmane's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

The book was well written in terms of language and pacing, but the subject matter - by this I mean the war, not the romance - was hard for me to stomach. The focus is on the male characters, as it is in the source material, and how women, children or indeed all humans are treated is not sugarcoated. Also, because of the subject matter, there is a lot of violence, gore and cruelty. I also hated Achilles as a character, which made the motivation of Patroclus' actions hard to understand. Will not read again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Torture, Trafficking, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Pregnancy

chrisljm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Yeah I cried. 

Madeline Miller is a beautiful writer and I did enjoy her retelling of this myth, but I didn't find it to be particularly remarkable. 

I think the thing I found most puzzling was Patroclus' inclination towards saving women from being war trophies when this was very much a sociopolitical norm during this period in time. Of course that's not to say I wanted to see more scenes of women being brutalized or that it's impossible for there to be any person during this period to disagree with such practices, but I think when making the decision to have that be one of the main characters in this myth for the purpose of having a more likable protagonist, it becomes a story that lacks the social and cultural context of the historical myths by changing certain themes to fit modern sensibilities. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, and Slavery

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, Abandonment, Colonisation, Infidelity, Self harm, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcohol and Child abuse

mconroy9137's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Violence, War, Sexual harassment, and Rape

Moderate: Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Torture, Classism, Deportation, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child death, Confinement, Homophobia, Vomit, Abandonment, and Child abuse

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Death of parent, Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Cursing

tallyswrldd's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

its slow in the beginning but once it gets going it pulls you in. you will cry but its worth it, its the most beautifully written book ive ever read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Child death

marsbarz0903's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death, Murder, Child death, Genocide, and War

Moderate: Rape and Grief

eryncaroline's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.5

I was so excited to read this book after hearing such rave reviews and that tissues are required for this one. Definitely well-written and such an interesting dive into these mythological greek characters, but the world building felt inconsistent with the way the gods play a role in the story and once the battle of troy began the number of "time jumps" really takes you out of the story waiting for the "big thing" to happen. I did really enjoy the first half of the book and I was sold on the characters and really interested in their story, but it was difficult to watch the characters change and see the fates play out. Still pondering the story and my review, but I'm glad to have read it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Violence, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, and Sexual violence

dkguida's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, War, Death, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Sexual assault

rtorrey's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Grief, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Medical content, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, Blood, Cursing, Self harm, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War

shayna14's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Infidelity, Medical content, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, Self harm, Slavery, Sexual assault, Grief, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Murder, Animal death, Medical trauma, Blood, Gore, Death of parent, Violence, War, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Classism, Bullying, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Vomit, Torture, Excrement, Outing, Kidnapping, Trafficking, and Homophobia

Minor: Abandonment

_grace_c_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Warning-you will cry from chapter Thirty One onwards

I knew this book was going to be great, but great is an understatement. Madeline Millers writing is so beautiful and poetic, one of the best I've ever read. The author was so committed to showing that Achilles and Patroclus had more than just a brotherly bond, it was a bond of love, honesty and understanding. An exile and a Prince growing together, skilled in the arts of war and medicine, and staying at one another's side through everything. This book is so heart felt and heart breaking. In the end, it is known that there love mattered more to eachother than anything else and it is accepted and respected. The world of Greek mythology is built wonderfully also. I urge anyone and everyone to read this book ❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Grief, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Infidelity, Child death, Rape, and Death