Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

9 reviews

liliana92's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I went into this book expecting this to be the story of Ansel and his murders told through the eyes of the victims, as the book summary promises, but it is not this at all. The murders happen off page. And I think if I knew this was the case, that the book is about the actual lives of women he interacted with at a point or another, maybe I would have rated a 5. I wanted more "murder" (that feels awkward to write). 
I think in terms of the book itself, the only criticism I have is that the jumping from perspectives and in a 20 year timeline got confusing and sometimes left me feeling like I needed more from certain scenarios. Oh that and I hated the fact that Ansel thought he was some genius for getting a prison guard to be apparently "shaken" by his seduction powers. Otherwise, I think it's a great read. Just don't think you're gonna get a play by play of a murder, because you're not. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, and Murder

savreads28's review

dark emotional informative 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Confinement, Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Death, Sexual violence, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Mental illness, Rape, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

juliesleseecke's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Blood, Sexual content, Misogyny, Gore, Animal cruelty, Death, Grief, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Vomit, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment

desiderium_incarnate's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-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? Yes

4.75

There are millions of men out there who want to hurt women - people seem to think that Ansel Packer is extraordinary, because he actually did. 

This book was amazing! Yes it's incredibly dark and it hurts but it is so skillfully written and immersive and makes so much sense, I am pretty much in awe. The cover also makes so much sense when you read it and that's really cool. I didn't give it 5 stars because of a principle I have, if animals get unnecessarily hurt or die in a story, it isn't 5 stars,but yeah otherwise I fully recommend it. It really gives you a new perspective on the obsession people have with murderers or serial killers specifically - is the murderer really the most important thing about that? Is it most interesting, what made them like this? How their psyche works? What would be if they wouldn't have made those decisions? How they impacted the people around them and vice versa? 
The book is not pro death penalty or police it shows flaws in the system, it also isn't against reporting on serial killers, it is just in some ways a comfort, hope, warning and another perspective from death row as well as from impacted outsiders left behind and I think that is all it should be. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Alcohol, Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Car accident, Confinement, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Violence, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

toofondofbooks_'s review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was an absolute stunner. The writing was beautiful and the structure of the storytelling was just *so* the right way to do it that I felt spoiled with every page. Every character felt extremely real to me both in good and bad ways. This book asked so many questions and challenged me with every new piece of information. I loved the focus on the women affected by the main character's actions in this story as opposed to just the pov of the perpetrator and the themes that surrounded them. This was the most solid read that I've read in a long time. Absolutely brilliant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexual content, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Grief, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Stalking

myretromeltdown's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Death, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, and Physical abuse

millierbrewer's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual harassment, and Physical abuse

alexisgarcia's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i absolutely loved this. it was so introspective, i loved how the author did not lead you to believe one way or another. they simply told a story, and you can take it as you want. i loved the multiple POV’s and how they all related to the death row inmate. the ending was so beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Bullying, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence

nicolesorial's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Child death, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Cancer and Rape