Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Water Outlaws

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

13 reviews

adancewithbooks's review

dark reflective medium-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

4.5

Thank you to Solaris and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.

"I only mean that as yet, our advancement has not come at the expense of men. But it shall. It must. There is not sufficient room for us otherwise. Our true success will mean some of them lose power...and that will not come without anger and fear. "

"Then we should slow its progress. A tidal wave spread over many generations becomes a gentle flow, and either one gets to the end. "

"A flow! You mean a trickle."

"Even a trickle can wash away a mountain eventually. "

The Water Outlaws is a gender spun retelling of the Chinese classic novel Water Margin. And a hefty one at that. The author doesn't once shy away from talking about the hard things in this book. Which can make this book a little jarring in places but it is also important. Because even though this is set in the past, a lot of its topics still has baring on our modern days.

The above quote shows how this book starts. Our main character Lin Chong believes that if she follows the rules and keeps her head down, she will be respected and be kept out of harms way. Unlike younger females she sees who are naive. It isn't right if it happens to them but changing your behaviour is a must to survive. That is until she finds that despite her perfect behaviour and older age, she is sexually assaulted by her superior. The thing that she was trying to protect her friend from by coming with her, now happens to her. And when she does end up fighting, she gets accused of treason.

That whole scene of the sexual assault. All the thoughts that Lin Chong had. It perfectly illustrated why most women won't tell about sexual assault right away. Why they don't just kick back or slap a hand away. Because the power always lays with the men or the position above you. Because if you slap that person away they will slap you. Because if you don't lie down and be silent, they will threaten your family or take away your job. Sexual assault isn't just physical. It is also psychological. A mind game that the assaulter plays on you. And it is society that says, stop complaining, stop whining. It is not that bad.

'How could civilization be rotten to its core and still function?'

It is also a story that champions women, feminism. There are women that are strong, smart and capable of being leaders. It was interesting to see that Lin Chong's friend, who championed feminism the most, was the one that ended up giving out on her principles when put on the spot by someone higher in power. Yet Lin Chong changes to wanting to throw out a tidal wave. Because in the end, when you are forced into a corner, sometimes you have to lash out.

I would have rated this book 5 stars but it took slightly too long to get to the end. And I wasn't particularly happy about that scene of cannibalism and revenge. I understand the revenge, not everyone is pretty in anger. But the cannibalism was a step too far for me.

Content Warnings

fairyko's review

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad fast-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

I think there's a new favourite on my shelf. Character development, a story that does not drag on, rather fast paced and a flawless integration of lgbtq+ characters.
I'm so glad I got to read this.

Content Warnings

laurareads87's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

The Water Outlaws is a revolutionary feminist wuxia tale inspired by Water Margin, a novel written in Mandarin (the publication date of which is unknown, but which is certainly pre-1524). It follows Lin Chong, an instructor who works training soldiers for the Emperor, whose carefully constructed life of respectability is torn apart by a violently misogynist commanding officer. Fleeing, she finds herself amongst the Bandits of Liangshan, a crew of mostly women who consider themselves fighters for justice for the oppressed.

I loved this novel. Huang has so skillfully blended the conventions of wuxia, political intrigue, epic fight scenes, and complex & well developed magical systems that I wish I could go back a little bit in time so that I wasn’t finished reading yet. The plot drew me in and kept me interested, and the characters - in all their moral ambiguity - stole my heart. I so hope that Huang returns to Liangshan for a future novel.

Content warnings: sexual assault (on page), violence, murder, death, gore, injury detail, grief, misogyny, sexism, cannibalism (on page), torture (on page)

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing an ARC in exchange for this review.

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