Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir

9 reviews

annaavian's review

sad slow-paced

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

1.0

 This book is severely overrated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Racism, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Misogyny, and Cursing

nicilaui's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

These three short stories about growing old and being abandoned really got to me emotionally. The last one in particular wasn't easy for me. Anyone who can identify with the hopeless situations of abandoned mothers will struggle here. Incredibly written. Only the first story has a heart-warming ending. I have to cope with the rest now. A very important piece of literature for anybody but especially for young people and women. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I couldn't connect with the first story, "The Age of Discretion." It was the soporific ramblings of a boy mom, and the last novella was annoying. The standout for me was definitely "The Monologue." Pure, unadulterated female rage, and maybe it's concerning, but I found myself relating a lot to the MC, Murielle, at least with the misanthropic and nihilistic thoughts, her acidic homophobic and racist diatribes notwithstanding. The writing was chef's kiss, run-on sentences and all. The psychotic stream of consciousness was both chaotic and tragic to follow, but reading Murielle's delusions of grandeur and excessive narcissism wasn't as dreadful as when men do it. I think this manifesto against the world is the one I'll keep coming back to, and maybe I'll even make it a tradition to read it on every new year's day starting next year lol

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicide, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Sexism, Child death, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy

_rowan_'s review against another edition

emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Blood, Child death, Slavery, Drug use, Death, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Infidelity, and Grief

mayaspasta's review

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, and Death

rooney_shay's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This edition included two other short stories as well as “The Woman Destroyed” (TWD, for short). I enjoyed TWD much more than the other two stories, but they all focused around woman dealing with loss in their lives. 

TWD dealt with the main character slowly losing her husband to another woman, but with him goes her sense of self.

 
It was deeply saddening and really hurt my heart. I began to empathize with the main character and only wanted to see her happy. 
<small spoiler>The only reason I’m not giving this a 5/5 is because of the ambiguous ending. I’m not a huge a fan of unresolved conflict, so just a small warning to those of you like me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity

Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Classism, and Drug use

nabila99's review against another edition

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

4.5

my first experience with de Beauvoir was reading the second sex for gender theory class at university. if only i knew she was so talented a fiction writer as well!

this book is absolutely heart-wrenching, so much so that i had to start reading another book in the middle of it, even though i was really enjoying it, because it is so heavy....i've read novels with much darker and sadder subject material, but the way de Beauvoir writes about pain, loss of identity, desperation, resentment, hope, and despair is so visceral i cried multiple times, especially in the last eponymous short story. she captures women's suffering like no other.

i only took off a half star because the writing style in the second short story, the monologue, is so difficult to follow (even though it's genius and i admire the technique and contrast in narrative voices), and some of the side characters could have been more fleshed out. 

cannot wait to read more of de Beauvoir's work!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Drug abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Alcohol, Misogyny, Death, Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Eating disorder, Suicide, Abandonment, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Blood, Abortion, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racism, and Sexual content

bill369's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

People on the internet were recommending this book.

I don't really have a favourite character. However, I do believe the characters are incredibly well made and I did feel for them

Three stories about older women. Women who were abandoned, cheated on or betrayed. The work captures so much anger these women feel and puts these struggles, which for women come with age, into the spotlight. Discussing these themes is essential and I'm glad I saw a new point of view.

Page 34, what is youth.
 

„Mládí je to, co Italové nazývají stamina. Míza, oheň, který umožňuje milovat a tvořit. Když tohle ztratíš, ztratila jsi všechno.“

 
Page 43–44, you are so young!

„Jste tak mladá!“ dodala. To slyším často a lichotí mi to. Ale najednou mě to slovo popudilo. Je to dvojsmyslná poklona, která ohlašuje trapné zítřky. Zachovat si vitalitu, veselost, duchapřítomnost, to znamená zůstat mladý. Tak tedy údělem stáří je rutina, zatrpklost, zchátralost. Nejsem mladá — jsem dobře zachovalá; to je velký rozdíl. Zachovalá a možná vyřízená.

Page 97, good quote.

Pila s velice jemnými zoubky se mi zařezává do srdce.

Page 118, the rock bottom.

Pokaždé si myslím, že už jsem na dně. A pak se propadnu do ještě hlubších pochyb a zoufalství.

Page 154, joy.

Veselost: vzduch je průzračný, čas plyne, lehce se dýchá: nic jiného jsem nežádala.

 

I liked the end of every story.

I adore how this book is filled with rage. It's perfect. It strikes where it should and I did like it a lot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child death and Stalking

Minor: Child abuse and Pregnancy

chantal18's review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexism, Misogyny, Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, and Emotional abuse