Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

40 reviews

itsemmaofc's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

pagesofkenzie's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Violence, and Physical abuse

howlinglibraries's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

 

"Love is the path of least resistance, you see? It’s a lot more work to cause harm to someone who mistrusts you, or fears you. Or hates you. Love opens the city gates wide, and allows all manner of horrors right inside."

I don't read a lot of speculative fiction, so this took me a little bit to get into, and at first, I wasn't sure if I was enjoying it at all. Who was this crane, and why was the main character's mother taking him as a lover? Was this normal in this lightly dystopian setting? Did everyone take birds for mates, and why was this crane so particularly cruel?

As the story unraveled, though, I found myself drawn into it so intensely I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was interrupted at the 85% mark of the audiobook and couldn't get back to it soon enough because I had to know how it would end! And gradually, I realized that this wasn't a story that was supposed to make perfect sense, because it isn't a story about the crane. It's a story about generational trauma, and cycles of abuse, and the things that people — especially women — will tolerate in the name of love.

I enjoyed this so much. I can't wait to read more from this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Grief

kaiyakaiyo's review

emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

brutal yet beautiful book! I expected to like it based on how much I loved When Women Were Dragons, and did! Barnhill’s prose is so … something! emotive, throbbing, evocative. I felt so dearly for our main character, and felt so acutely the struggle of her family over generations. 

this book was deeply sad and is not very hopeful, but it is powerful and does not devolve into hopelessness or despair for despairs sake. it just is, you feel and sit in those feelings. 

idk much like most of my 5-stars, I can’t really articulate exactly what I liked. Just know that I liked it immensely 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Blood, Gun violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Animal death

Minor: Terminal illness and Alcoholism

jessicafee86's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexism

meaghanelizabook's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Animal death, Death, Cancer, Child abuse, Body horror, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Torture, Terminal illness, Blood, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

m1923's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Physical abuse

homiegandalf's review

dark emotional 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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was inconsolable after finishing this retelling. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and crying. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Mental illness

melissamalicious's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.25

All the feelings! This one is a twisted retell of a Japanese folktale The Crane's Wife. A dark tale narrated by a weaver's daughter, this story is one filled with

This book reminds me of a dark fractured fairytale. The twists of the retell is conveying an old message, rather than a more modern one: "mothers fly away like migrating birds. And fathers die too young. This is why farmers have daughters. To keep things going in the meantime, until it’s our time to grow wings. Go soaring away across the sky.”  

The crane as an allegorical character is going to have me thinking about this story for a bit. The feathers shedding everywhere, suffocating and obscuring views, the talons taking over the past and damaging it, just whoa. The author presents this story to us and takes the outside world away. 

The crane as literal character is done visually, both beautiful and a bit of the grotesque that makes this an enjoyably dark read. The crane as a metaphoric character, whether representing abuse, or expectations of women, or freedom, 

I'm really looking forward to getting to discuss this a bit, specifically to what it means when a crane can represent different things. The author weaves this together into an evocative fable. It makes me want to read more of their work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Vomit

annaavian's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

In "The Crane Husband," Kelly Barnhill reimagines the traditional Japanese folktale "The Crane Wife" for a modern Western audience through a devastating dark fantasy that explores domestic violence, cycles of abuse, fear of abandonment, and the exploitation of women. While staying true to the core theme of the original folklore - the mistreatment of women by men - Barnhill introduces additional layers of complexity and insight. However, the protagonist does not alter the story's ending from tragic to uplifting. Despite the crane's demise, nothing is truly salvaged.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Violence