Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Evening Primrose

What a grim and incredibly compelling read.

As a South African, stories about sexual violence aren’t limited to works of fiction, but a reality with live with. That being said, Period Pain was not unusual in its content nor the way in which events unfolded in Masechaba’s life.

Masechaba is a young Black junior doctor suffering from burnout out and depression. She’s also experiencing moral injury, and grappling with her own mental health while entrusted with the health of hundreds of patients has her questioning her abilities and the world.

Despite how hesitant I was at times to complete the book, I wanted to see Masechaba’s story through.

I was not a fan of how the book ended, but it is something that gave her renewed purpose after the years of turmoil she experienced so maybe it’s the right conclusion for her.

Content Warnings

cristhebird's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

khakipantsofsex's review against another edition

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challenging dark

4.5

Content Warnings

lilaceous's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

3.5

characters - ⭐️
plot - ⭐️
engaging to read - ⭐️
would recommend - .5⭐️
would read again -

really raw and really sad. don’t read this if you’re not in a good place emotionally.

Content Warnings

eline1701's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

I read this in a day as it's quite small and reads quickly, but I absolutely had to take breaks just to process everything. It's beautifully written and it doesn't try and make anything look prettier than it is, and that also means it's very very heavy and quite graphic at times. I'm glad I read it though. I had to go write this review because I can't stop thinking about it.

The protagonist, Masechaba, is a young South African girl, who has to deal with horribly heavy periods from the moment she starts having them (and I think they don't stop in between either?), and they only get more bearable after many different treatments. She really wants a hysterectomy though, and decides to become a doctor, so one of her colleagues could do it for her. As she becomes a doctor, the reality of working at a hospital that doesn't receive enough funding sinks in, and she becomes overworked and depressed as she grapples with grief, guilt, and numbness, as well as the effects of Apartheid and colonialism. Meanwhile, her best friend and flatmate Nyasha, a doctor from Zimbabwe, has to deal with increasingly violent xenophobia.

Some quotes I highlighted as I was reading:

"Thank you for being so concerned that I'm unaware of the worst thing that's ever happened in my life. Thank you, you're all so terribly kind. But can I choose to forget for just a moment? Would that be okay with you? Just like I choose to forget that the world is evil and our government corrupt and the West forever plotting our demise?"

"I asked her if she ever wished certainly patients would die.
She looked at me funny and said no."

The ending is what made me lower the rating a little bit, as I'm not sure how I feel about it in terms of message, but I also think that may be the wrong approach here, as it did feel sort of "good/satisfying" on a personal level, for the character. So, just to leave room for both, 4.25 stars (bless you, Storygraph, for making that an option).

To conclude, though, please do check the content warnings (though there are spoilers in there, of course).

Content Warnings