Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

188 reviews

ashkitty93's review against another edition

2.5

adventurous challenging dark hopeful slow-paced

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Ellen and Aliena saved this book. 

The law catching up with REDACTED was the most unrealistic part in the whole thing, and a fair letdown after everything that had come before. 

Superbly narrated by John Lee.

Glad to finally have this off my TBR and a bit more space on my shelf.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault

nizzynizz's review against another edition

5.0

emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War

kittycaserine's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder, War

alpenpeilchen's review against another edition

1.0

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Das Buch ist spannend geschrieben und ich hatte das Gefühl, einen neuen, realistischen Einblick in das damalige Leben zu bekommen. Die Idee, Charaktere über mehrere Generatione  hinweg zu begleiten hat mir auch gefallen. Trotzdem bin ich nicht so begeistert wie scheinbar viele andere. Es gibt mehrere Stellen, in denen die brutale Vergewaltigung von Minderjährigen bis ins Detail beschrieben wird. Jede Frau bekommt eine detaillierte Beschreibung ihrer Brüste und verhält sich wie ein Klischee, das nur dazu dient, die Fantasien eines Mannes zu befriedigen. Allgemein sind Charaktere nach dem Disney-Prinzip entweder schön und gut, oder böse und hässlich. Leider schaffe ich es selten, ein schlechtes Buch mittendrin  aufzuhören, aber das Bedürfnis die Fortsetzungen zu lesen, habe ich nicht.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder

Moderate: Sexual harassment

maimoonarahman's review against another edition

1.5

adventurous tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence

twonky's review against another edition

4.0

dark hopeful informative sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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It’s hard for me to imagine holding on to hatred as long as these characters do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Classism

Moderate: Chronic illness, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting

Minor: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, War

There’s a LOT of violence, bit it’s the Middle Ages.

julierambaeck's review against another edition

2.0

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This was a 2 star for me, and I think that is entirely my fault for picking this book up. This is not a book for me, and I should've known that. I can see and appreciate that this is a masterpiece, just one I didn't enjoy reading. It was waaaay to violent and explicit. 
I am glad I have read it, but it felt like a chore to get through - it took me two months to get through!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War

ebullientbunny's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury

the_cats_pyjamas's review against another edition

4.5

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This is a fantastically written novel, effortlessly engaging and fully immersed in the historical setting. My only fault with it is that it is clearly written by a straight male and therefore some of the depictions of women feel overly sexual and the descriptions of sexual assault (which unfortunately is historically accurate) felt very graphic. However there are several well written female characters and overall it is an excellent read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence

alliegator13's review against another edition

5.0

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Intricate plot; it’s highly enjoyable to see how the cast of characters’ actions and motives influence each other and the course of their lives. I loved the premise- everything being tied to the construction of a cathedral. The political intrigue, romance, familial tragedy, betrayal, and secrecy was all fantastic and entertaining. Plenty of good guys to root for and bad guys to dread.

The female characters, while interesting, are very highly sexualized. The male characters are not, and it took me out of the story. I felt like, instead of reading a book by a third-party omniscient narrator, I was reading a story narrated by a straight man. I was seeing the female characters through the eyes of a straight man. It takes away from the engrossing story, the world building, and the immersion. Additionally, there was no need for the graphic depictions of sexual assault and rape. Much of that could have been done off-camera. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence