Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

13 reviews

river23's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Murder, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol and Gun violence

Minor: Infidelity

omair's review

dark informative sad medium-paced

4.0

WARNING TO THOSE READING THIS BECAUSE OF THE FILM ADAPTATION:
After all of the hype and excitement I had for the film adaptation, I knew I had to read the source material as soon as possible. I had thought I would take to the book far more than the film, which I did thoroughly like, because I went into the film expecting more police procedural and less story of love

and betrayal

.

Yet as I read this book, I found myself agreeing more and more with the decisions the film made. This is not a slight against the book, but further praise for the film. The purposes of the film and the book are not one and the same, and so it is vital to anyone that, like me, is coming to read because/after the film to understand before they begin.

REVIEW THE BOOK INDEPENDENT OF THE FILM (which is what I intend to do)

Killers is as informative of a book as I could've imagined considering the personal story the primary focus is on. The book is overflowing with descriptors that will make you feel sorrow and anger, leave you wondering what humanity is and why it is missing. While only covering a handful of incidences, the cold factual presentation will leave you reeling, as if sensing how small a fraction the sample is compared to the population. All totaled, the official death count may

only be a couple dozen

but Grann will easily convince you that there were hundreds more victims during the Reign of Terror, and he may well be right.

If you can make it through the pain and sadness, there is a beautiful story here of a people's survival. The heart to endure and rally is as much a light as the era is an inky darkness. The book may focus on Thomas White, his team of agents, and their investigation that finally tore down the veil behind which the atrocities hid, but the real heroes are the Osage people.

For as strong as the book is in its cold, clearly well-researched, tone, I also found this to be a slight undoing. The voice can feel rather impersonal at times, leaving the reader as a student of history rather than immersed in the moment. This is why I agree with the decisions made for the film adaptation. Maybe I would feel differently not having known the details from the film first, I can never know for sure. But the progression of the book, and some of the detours along the way, played loose with risking a reader to set the book down only to never return and finish.

Ultimately, I will recommend this read to anyone with an interest in the Reign of Terror, interest in the era, an interest in the realities of White American Exceptionalism, or a morbid curiosity of a casual genocide. Sticking through some of the uneven pacing is well worth it for the resulting reverence of the Osage, and Mollie in particular, all carrying inside of them something no man could ever kill.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Hate crime, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Chronic illness, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Classism, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, and Confinement

Minor: Misogyny, Kidnapping, Medical content, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Animal death, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Child death, and Cultural appropriation

dxnatelli's review

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Violence, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Death, Blood, Grief, Racism, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Death of parent, Hate crime, Gore, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, and Child death

Moderate: Infidelity, Stalking, Body horror, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Police brutality, and Medical trauma

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicide, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Car accident

blaketisdebest's review

dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

Truly one of the best books I’ve ever read. Chronicles the grotesque history of abuse and extortion of the indigenous in the americas as a legacy that continues today. The author approaches the nonfiction tale as a narrative beyond reality by how shocking and inane the story of the Osage truly is.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Genocide, Gore, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Violence, Cursing, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Racism, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Gun violence, and Hate crime

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

A non-fiction book that moves with the urgency of a murder-mystery, this account of a forgotten injustice will boil your blood, especially since the crimes were saturated with racism against the Osage First Nations. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Genocide, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Blood, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content, Child death, Infidelity, Ableism, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Car accident

Minor: Pregnancy, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Physical abuse

Be warned that there is a graphic bombing episode, medical content involving diabetes, covering up crime scenes, frequent poisoning, financial abuse, policies preventing First Nations from accessing their accounts, court scenes, and mention of “burning human flesh” from an electric chair.

readbycarina's review

dark informative mysterious medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Gun violence, and Racism

Minor: Infidelity

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad slow-paced

5.0

I saw the movie first and was really impressed - both from a point of awe (of the film's accomplishment) and also from the point of disbelief (of the evil portrayed by the film). I couldn't believe it. Turns out the film was true to every word in the book - at least the portions storytold. The last few chapters were left out, but that's because the movie was focused on Hale. Just like Kate Moore's The Woman They Could Not Silence made me hate weak men, this book makes me hate greedy men. It's like they were the ones the Bible was talking about when it said money was the root of all evil. I'm so deeply saddened for the Osage. I'm also grateful David Grann decided to investigate this story and tell it. I have no idea how long it took to get to the bottom of all these murders, but I sure hope he gets a crapload of money from the movie and lots of awards so that he can continue telling these important stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Infidelity, Violence, Hate crime, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Grief, and Racism

thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This case is completely insane and so so heartbreaking. I think non fiction like this is always at risk of being super dry and boring, but Grann tells the story beautifully. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Colonisation, Violence, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Medical content, Child death, and Death of parent

Minor: Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Infidelity

jennswan's review

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Genocide, Racism, Racial slurs, and Murder

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Alcohol

rochelleisreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Classism, Stalking, Hate crime, Chronic illness, and Car accident