Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat

30 reviews

bookielover's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad 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? Yes

3.5

The book was really good has very strong talking pointsvmy issues is that there are alot of loose plot ends that weren't dealt with

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Death, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Suicide, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse

lanid's review

dark emotional reflective

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Death of parent, Grief, Suicide, and Pregnancy

Minor: Eating disorder and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

lostcupofstars's review against another edition

4.0

This book is heartbreakingly beautiful. A simple story that carries so much depth.
A touching exploration of generational trauma, the violence of men and the pressures of being a mother.

This is a book I definitely recommend (please check the trigger warnings beforehand!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

Moderate: Rape and Abortion

swenja's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence

Minor: Rape

kie's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Self harm, Rape, Child abuse, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Rape, Eating disorder, and Sexual violence

queenshrike's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

I had to read this for a college course years ago. And I always meant to come back and read it again for myself. I've done that now, settled that in myself. 

This book is still so touching and so painful, even after all these years. I can't say I love it. But I felt it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Self harm, Pregnancy, Grief, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicide, Sexual content, and Panic attacks/disorders

thepinkrainboots90's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

2.25

This was a sad story about a glimpse of generational trauma passed down thrown through harmful cultural practices. I hate to say this book was mostly boring but it’s writing is bland with a pretty metaphor here and there. It’s a fairly short easy read so it made it easy to speed through. I ended it hoping we would see some peace at the end, but nope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Incest, Eating disorder, Abortion, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Self harm

Moderate: Alcoholism and Eating disorder

Minor: Cancer, Pregnancy, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

pernafet's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Blood, Self harm, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Abortion, and Death

Moderate: Body shaming and Mental illness

Minor: Eating disorder

abbie_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

I picked up this copy of Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat secondhand, not realising that it was filled with someone else’s underlinings and notes in the margins. While I find it interesting to see other people’s thoughts (when I can decipher the handwriting), I find my eyes flicking to the annotations far too often and it takes me out of the story. I genuinely have a hard time remembering much about this book that I read two weeks ago because most of what I could concentrate on was the previous reader’s fixation on Danticat’s use of colours 🥲

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I do remember enough to tell you that this is a harrowing read filled with sadness. It explores mother-daughter relationships, examining how trauma is passed down from generation to generation. Sophie grows up in Haiti with her aunt after her mother moves to the US, and when she eventually sends for her, both women are forced to confront the past which still haunts them. It’s a very difficult read, with rape, sexual trauma and self-mutilation all playing a part, but I found it especially difficult to read the parts where mothers inflict the same violences they experienced at the hands of their mothers on their daughters, despite recognising the irreversible damage it will leave/did leave on them. The cycles are hard to break, but the ending (‘Ou libéré? Are you free, my daughter?’) does offer a small glimmer of hope.

.

Despite the overwhelming pain of this novel, I’d quite like to read it again, with a clean copy this time, as I don’t feel I gave it the benefit of my full attention with all the annotations!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

arbitrary_convenience's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

Please don’t read this if you have sexual trauma, because that’s a big theme here. 
It wasn’t something I would read for fun or relaxation so much as for perspective. I think it shows the effects of how your childhood shapes you as an adult. It was hard to read at some times because of its themes and I did have to put it down for a while and come back to it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt