Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

28 reviews

peachani's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I only wish that the

comeuppance

deaths were more gory and protracted. It's what they deserved... Hmm. Maybe I relate to

Moremi

more than I initially thought. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Trafficking, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual content, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Body horror, Car accident, and Death

Moderate: Trafficking, Cannibalism, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Rape, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

Minor: Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Deportation, Kidnapping, Vomit, Child death, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Cancer, Confinement, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Transphobia

caidyn's review

I'm sure this is a good book, but I felt lost. The world is rich, but I didn't understand it. Didn't like any of the characters either. All in all, not for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

falenkizzy's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, and Death

Moderate: Ableism, Sexual assault, Rape, and Miscarriage

Minor: Trafficking, Sexual violence, and Incest

roytoo's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

"The truth claws its way into Nelah’s life from the grave."
That line from the book description echoes my reactions: 
This story clawed into me with its vivid descriptions of mundane, good, bad and evil deeds set in a future Botswana (and world) where very long lives are possible.
But what is the true cigar if those long lives, especially for everyone who isn't a cis male?
Please see the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Miscarriage

Minor: Incest, Trafficking, and Sexual violence

kelsokake's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I had little to no idea what to expect when starting this book, but I was pleasantly surprised! This wasn't a light read at all. It's sci-fi set in an insanely patriarchal society that has like, built-in generational trauma. 
 

In our city, it is unwise to trust reality.
 
I have been betrayed by reality, betrayed by my subconscious, shipwrecked from reality.
 
Now every thought must be deceased from my mind before its birth. 

While it took me a while to get invested, once I was in it, I was in it. The last quarter of the book had me constantly gasping in surprise and while the metaphor/allegory got a little heavy-handed towards the end, I still found myself wanting to know what was going to happen. I would definitely check out other books by Tlotlo Tsamaase

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Infertility, Misogyny, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Colonisation, Car accident, Body horror, Child death, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, and Miscarriage

Minor: Racism and Sexual violence

poisoned_icecream's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Sexual assault, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Car accident, and Gore

Moderate: Pregnancy, Incest, and Miscarriage

careinthelibrary's review

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.5

The last third was hard to follow but I was reading on a plane so I'm pretty sure that's the cause. Such cool worldbuilding and complex characters. Really compelling and interesting plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Violence, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Drug use, Alcohol, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Body horror, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Trafficking

rorikae's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

'Womb City' by Tlotlo Tsamaase is a deeply reflective sci-fi book that delves into systems of power in a future Botswana. 
Nelah lives in a world where people's consciousness can be transferred into new bodies, allowing for far longer lifespans. She has been moved into a new body but one that is carefully monitored thanks to the microchip embedded within it. Despite this, she is successful, married, and looking to start a family. But more is brewing under the surface. She seeks pleasure outside of marriage and on a night out with the man she is having an affair with, a terrible accident occurs. Reeling from the events of that night, Nelah begins to see the ghost of the woman they wronged. Fleeing from what happened, she starts to unravel the truth of her city and what lies beneath. 
Tsamaase has created a cast of deeply flawed characters that aren't always the easiest to root for. Despite this, the futuristic world and the mysteries that surround it kept me engaged throughout. This is a fascinating and terrifying society, as you learn more about it. Tsamaase touches on a number of subjects from pregnancy and criminality to misogyny and autonomy. There are so many aspects to this book that it can be overwhelming at times. I think the author may have tried to cram a bit too much in (in themes and in plot points) but overall, I was engaged and interested to see what happens. I believe this is a debut and I cannot wait to see what this author does next. Their world building and themes are fascinating and I'm interested to see how this is developed further in future works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, Body horror, Misogyny, Car accident, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexism, Death, Murder, Blood, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity

Moderate: Rape

planet_taffy's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Womb City is a heavy book that handles gender politics and crimes against women in a deeply intersectional way. I was continually impressed with the new layers Tsamaase brought to the issue leaving no stone unturned in xer dissection of male privilege and the way it's used to enact violence on everyone else.

It terms of the sci-fi elements, Tsamaase's future Botswana is also full of layers from artificial immortality through "body-hopping" to the many tools of surveillance and control giving us the dynamic of second class citizens through "microchipped people". Xe is pretty good about explaining new technologies each time they come up so that, by the time they're super important to the plot, you're quite familiar with them.

All in all it's a rewarding read, even if the verbiage is a bit hard to get through on the first pass. Nothing in the book is a throwaway, making the ending one of the most satisfying I've read. My only complaint is that I wish less scenes had taken place in the car.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Misogyny, Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death, Sexism, Death of parent, Violence, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Miscarriage, and Child death

Minor: Kidnapping and Pregnancy

These are pulled from the frontmatter of the book. Sensitive topics are used with purpose, but there is quite a bit of gore & body horror.

gurpreetlally's review

dark reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Blood, Car accident, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity and Misogyny