Scan barcode
A review by sas_lk
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
Heart-wrenching.
The entire time I was reading, I so desperately wanted the women to fight, to try different things, to escape this hell. But at the same time, you know that they will never be able to get out of that situation. It is so sad how a lot of the events are not even historical, in the sense that many women are still treated like this.
At the end, it still ended up being quite a bit about Achilles. While i understand why Barker wanted to do it, I still wish the focus was even more on the women because in the end, it almost felt like the book was forgiving Achilles and the men for what they had done.
That said, when Achilles grieves Patroclus, Barker wrote it extremely well.
The entire time I was reading, I so desperately wanted the women to fight, to try different things, to escape this hell. But at the same time, you know that they will never be able to get out of that situation. It is so sad how a lot of the events are not even historical, in the sense that many women are still treated like this.
At the end, it still ended up being quite a bit about Achilles. While i understand why Barker wanted to do it, I still wish the focus was even more on the women because in the end, it almost felt like the book was forgiving Achilles and the men for what they had done.
That said, when Achilles grieves Patroclus, Barker wrote it extremely well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Slavery, Child death, Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, War, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Kidnapping, Rape, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Violence