Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith

9 reviews

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

this was…. hm. 4.5 stars

it was incredibly well-written, if a bit dark for my tastes. the characters were so interesting and zoomed-in; it really felt like living in their heads. 

while i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, my head hurts a little trying to keep up with all the threads. the author bit off a lot, chewed it pretty well, but i think the bolus was a bit too much for me to swallow in the end. i can tell a lot of work went into weaving all the threads together, but i think i need to write out a timeline to really feel like i finished this book. part of that is me wanting a neater ending for winnie, but the other part is just that this book throws a lot of competing desires and pains at you all at once 

enjoyed reading, and would definitely read more by this author! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Blood, Sexism, Vomit, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Incest, Excrement, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

sophia_zaytoun_habib's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Violence, Body shaming, Alcohol, Abandonment, Vomit, Gore, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Murder, Excrement, Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Death, Classism, Body horror, and Blood

georgiesutton's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

3.0

I picked this up because I was interested in a story set in Vietnam and I enjoyed the descriptions and setting in Vietnam, and liked the ghost/spirit element but also that the Fortune Teller seemed to be a bit of a scam.

 I normally like multiple time lines and characters but this was too much back and forth with too long in between timelines to follow and make the connections. Not having dates, just using time before and after, and the sheer number of characters made this quite confusing. I felt there wasn't enough plot or chronology to carry it and I felt that meant some of the connections didn't pack the punch they should have because I forgot who was who etc. 

Most of the characters had no redeeming features although the female experience was centred which was interesting there were so many women I would have liked more of. 

Some of the writing was beautiful but also sometimes dragged with several long drawn out descriptions of unpleasant men getting drunk and making women uncomfortable for no real purpose. 

I'm also really frustrated that

Winnie never realised that she met the two brothers

. 

Overall this was eerie and atmospheric but not enough plot for me with hugely dislikable characters. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, Self harm, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Blood, Death, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Sexism, and Sexual content

porporina's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Vomit, Alcohol, Abandonment, Body horror, Misogyny, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexism

radfordmanor's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

lotus440's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Sexism

ynotlime's review

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Incest, and Body horror

etherealsuju's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body horror, and Drug use

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

writingcaia's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.25

What a trip this book was!
Using family trees and native Vietnamese myths and folklore, the author tells the story of several characters to encompass such a large part of Vietnam’s most recent history (going back more than 50 years), and it all starts with the disappearance of a Vietnamese American young woman with severe mental issues by the time it occurs, some of them are real some are hauntings. 
Going back from there we will find the nature of the man she lives with, his brother, and most importantly the girl who was their everything when they were young. A wild girl who hunts snakes, and she’s the connection to a ghost hunter and exorcist, a man the forest chose to save from the war, to a mother without a daughter, to French occupation, to rape and serfdom.
It’s not the easiest read due to its complicated timeline, that keeps shifting, going back and forward with no great logic, but you get used to it after a while and when the dots all start connecting, when you understand that what matters are the different stories and the history, not the timeline or that one story it becomes addictive.
Not knowing Vietnam or its people I believe this is the closest I will ever get, as the book brilliantly woven a tale that encompasses so much of the culture, history, and people, also the present and how it is affected by its folklore and past. 
Definitely a read I recommend, especially if you’re looking for a great read for API month.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Colonisation, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Sexual harassment, War, Incest, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pedophilia, and Rape