kaylacreviews's review against another edition
4.0
The Bedwetter started off strong, but the pace didn't pick up again until three-quarters of the way through it. There was sufficient suspense, but I found the conclusion to be anticlimactic. I thought certain events would occur sooner in the story than they did, and while the psychological horror aspects were riveting, the rest of the story dragged a bit for me. However, when I got used to the story's structure and resulting pacing, I was able to appreciate the work as a whole more. While this wasn't my favorite book in the horror genre, there was much I appreciated about it.
The Bedwetter was well-edited, and the characters were disturbingly realistic. Russel's narration and character development particularly shined. Telling the story from Russel's perspective put me in his demented mind and gave the work a distinct voice. Howard succeeded in helping me sympathize with the person Russel could have been, making the character's fall all the more heartbreaking. If you're interested in reading a chilling, slower-paced story detailing a man's frightening descent into madness, The Bedwetter by Lee Allen Howard may be just what you're looking for.
(Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book from Blackthorn Book Tours for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own and are honest and unbiased.)
Trigger Warning: This work contains scenes of torture and mutilation (human and animal), murder, child abuse, profanity, possibly triggering sexual situations, misogyny, and homophobia.
The Bedwetter was well-edited, and the characters were disturbingly realistic. Russel's narration and character development particularly shined. Telling the story from Russel's perspective put me in his demented mind and gave the work a distinct voice. Howard succeeded in helping me sympathize with the person Russel could have been, making the character's fall all the more heartbreaking. If you're interested in reading a chilling, slower-paced story detailing a man's frightening descent into madness, The Bedwetter by Lee Allen Howard may be just what you're looking for.
(Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book from Blackthorn Book Tours for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own and are honest and unbiased.)
Trigger Warning: This work contains scenes of torture and mutilation (human and animal), murder, child abuse, profanity, possibly triggering sexual situations, misogyny, and homophobia.
indiebookaddict's review against another edition
4.0
Chapter one opened with a shock, and I quickly wondered what I had gotten myself in to.
Russell has some deep issues that shine in this book. The author shares the dark past which has helped shape Russell into the psychopath that he is. The abuse, humiliation and feeling like he didn’t matter. You can feel the hate and disgust he has for parents. Throughout childhood they would punish him for wetting the bed by shaving his head. Oddly, the shaving seemed to turn into a fetish for him later in life.
I kept waiting for the moment Russell finally snapped and about halfway in it begins! There are some savage moments that show what Russell is truly capable of. The brutality continues as the Piss Fairy haunts Russell in his dreams. He has an epiphany and believes he has finally figured out what the Piss Fairy wants from him and decides to act on it. The blow delivered by his mom at the end was unexpected but tied in very well with all the other details and helped push Russell over the edge.
Overall this was a decent read. Howard gives a fantastic view inside the mind of a psychopath and what makes him tick. I would definitely check out more from this author.
Russell has some deep issues that shine in this book. The author shares the dark past which has helped shape Russell into the psychopath that he is. The abuse, humiliation and feeling like he didn’t matter. You can feel the hate and disgust he has for parents. Throughout childhood they would punish him for wetting the bed by shaving his head. Oddly, the shaving seemed to turn into a fetish for him later in life.
I kept waiting for the moment Russell finally snapped and about halfway in it begins! There are some savage moments that show what Russell is truly capable of. The brutality continues as the Piss Fairy haunts Russell in his dreams. He has an epiphany and believes he has finally figured out what the Piss Fairy wants from him and decides to act on it. The blow delivered by his mom at the end was unexpected but tied in very well with all the other details and helped push Russell over the edge.
Overall this was a decent read. Howard gives a fantastic view inside the mind of a psychopath and what makes him tick. I would definitely check out more from this author.
typicalbooks's review against another edition
5.0
The Bedwetter: Journal of a Budding Psychopath was a fantastic look into a very warped mind. Very well written in the forbidden ‘breezy manner’ it offers a look into the sort of mind we hope never actually exists - though many examples of the same we could assume sadly do as some similarities in true crime certainly exist. I have a lot to say so will certainly review this at greater length on typicalbooks, but must note the warnings contained in the very description stand. Being a fan of extreme horror and subversive storytelling it is not for the faint of heart as Russell’s story goes places most don’t want to go and probably should not. A great book by Lee Allen Howard that has me curious of his other work!
karlakayjenniges's review against another edition
4.0
“To be lost,” I say, “you gotta belong somewhere.”
This is a deep, disturbing, often quite brutal story told to us by the protagonist, Russell Pisarek.
He is writing his journal to let the world know his story. The brutal abuse he has had to endure as a child, never given love, often ignored, beaten and bullied. All because he was never wanted. He is very immature and deeply troubled.
Raised by a sadistic mother, and an ignorant father. His mother punishes him for wetting in his bed. Inflicting shame and pain upon him, he begins to have horrible nightmares, nightmares that are so disturbing from the abuse that it causes him to wet in his bed even more and long into his adult life.
The psychological damage it has caused has turned him into a psychopath with deep wanting to fulfill his own sadistic desires. The desire to control and meet his uncontrollable and unnatural sexual cravings. He has no control over his anger and when his temper flares he does not hesitate to inflict harmful intentions against animals and humans alike. Most often ending in death.
~I have read many biographies about serial killers. Most often it stems from abuse as a child. They begin by harming animals and that follows into killing humans. These are deeply disturbed souls.
This is what this book reminds me of. This could easily be a reflection of a true life serial killer. We really have no idea what types of thoughts they actually endure in the deep recesses of their minds.
~Gritty, dark, and terrifying. It produced feelings of sadness, abhorrence and made my blood run cold.
*Please be aware and mindful of the warning in the description.
This is a deep, disturbing, often quite brutal story told to us by the protagonist, Russell Pisarek.
He is writing his journal to let the world know his story. The brutal abuse he has had to endure as a child, never given love, often ignored, beaten and bullied. All because he was never wanted. He is very immature and deeply troubled.
Raised by a sadistic mother, and an ignorant father. His mother punishes him for wetting in his bed. Inflicting shame and pain upon him, he begins to have horrible nightmares, nightmares that are so disturbing from the abuse that it causes him to wet in his bed even more and long into his adult life.
The psychological damage it has caused has turned him into a psychopath with deep wanting to fulfill his own sadistic desires. The desire to control and meet his uncontrollable and unnatural sexual cravings. He has no control over his anger and when his temper flares he does not hesitate to inflict harmful intentions against animals and humans alike. Most often ending in death.
~I have read many biographies about serial killers. Most often it stems from abuse as a child. They begin by harming animals and that follows into killing humans. These are deeply disturbed souls.
This is what this book reminds me of. This could easily be a reflection of a true life serial killer. We really have no idea what types of thoughts they actually endure in the deep recesses of their minds.
~Gritty, dark, and terrifying. It produced feelings of sadness, abhorrence and made my blood run cold.
*Please be aware and mindful of the warning in the description.
booknallnight's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Rounded to 3
When I first read the synopsis of this one I thought oh this will be fun ... look into the start of a killer... I was NOT prepared for what I read...
From the very first scene this is extremely disturbing...like you want to stop reading but can't help but keep reading type disturbing...horror fans you know
When I first read the synopsis of this one I thought oh this will be fun ... look into the start of a killer... I was NOT prepared for what I read...
From the very first scene this is extremely disturbing...like you want to stop reading but can't help but keep reading type disturbing...horror fans you know
jjarthur's review
3.0
Firstly, thanks to Lee Allen Howard for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a disturbing read no doubt about it, but what else do you expect from a book called what it is. I understand a lot of the complaints with this book and actually agree with a fair few of them but also see why they existed in some cases.
For example, not everyones a fan of the writing and use of text speech but with the being a journal written by the main character it does make sense even if it is annoying.
Then again, there are complaints which are unexplainable like why is the 'Piss Fairy' presented as the important figure in the synopsis yet appears merely towards the end twice with absolutely zero explanation, something that quite frankly annoyed me.
A lot of the character of Russell is explained by his childhood and Howard does well to show how certain traumas have led to Russells adulthood tendencies (though the random homophobia seemed out of place and just shoe horned in for us to dislike Russell more).
All in all the contents of the book are horrendous and rancid and yet this was a very easy read. I personally read it between serving customers in my work despite feeling uncomfortable with the contents.
Not something I could reccomend but wouldn't outright advise against reading, just make sure you check the content warnings.
This book is a disturbing read no doubt about it, but what else do you expect from a book called what it is. I understand a lot of the complaints with this book and actually agree with a fair few of them but also see why they existed in some cases.
For example, not everyones a fan of the writing and use of text speech but with the being a journal written by the main character it does make sense even if it is annoying.
Then again, there are complaints which are unexplainable like why is the 'Piss Fairy' presented as the important figure in the synopsis yet appears merely towards the end twice with absolutely zero explanation, something that quite frankly annoyed me.
A lot of the character of Russell is explained by his childhood and Howard does well to show how certain traumas have led to Russells adulthood tendencies (though the random homophobia seemed out of place and just shoe horned in for us to dislike Russell more).
All in all the contents of the book are horrendous and rancid and yet this was a very easy read. I personally read it between serving customers in my work despite feeling uncomfortable with the contents.
Not something I could reccomend but wouldn't outright advise against reading, just make sure you check the content warnings.
nicktionary19's review against another edition
3.0
I’ve struggled with what exactly to say about The Bedwetter. This wasn’t the book for me, so take the following with that grain of salt.
Frankly, I think it misses a lot of beats. But even so, it’s entertaining - even engrossing at times.
The Bedwetter is set up as a journal. It mostly works as such but frequently slips out of the epistolary accounting of events and into more of an on the spot narrative. I think this is fine, possibly necessary for flow. Just happened too much. As a journal it has the uncensored/unfiltered thoughts of Russel. There is some slang, mental shorthand, etc. that never settled in for me and so pulled me out every time.
I picked this up because it was advertised as extreme and I’m always curious what’s passing for extreme. There is sexual violence, animal violence, homophobic violence, domestic violence. All of it is repulsive. There is no excuse for any of the acts, but it all played more like symbols of extremes. There are plenty of gross and vile acts in The Bedwetter but many seem more exhibitionistic than organic to the narrative.
Russel’s a psychopath. The title says so. I just didn’t buy the switch flip. He had plenty of reasons to go off, mind you. So maybe I’m too picky.
The things that go undiscovered/uninvestigated in The Bedwetter are hard to ignore. The final battle consists largely of expository dialogue. The reveals are actually quite good, but too dense and clumsily handled - but they did a lot to elevate my opinion of The Bedwetter.
TLDR: A miss for me but not without its merits and intrigue.
Frankly, I think it misses a lot of beats. But even so, it’s entertaining - even engrossing at times.
The Bedwetter is set up as a journal. It mostly works as such but frequently slips out of the epistolary accounting of events and into more of an on the spot narrative. I think this is fine, possibly necessary for flow. Just happened too much. As a journal it has the uncensored/unfiltered thoughts of Russel. There is some slang, mental shorthand, etc. that never settled in for me and so pulled me out every time.
I picked this up because it was advertised as extreme and I’m always curious what’s passing for extreme. There is sexual violence, animal violence, homophobic violence, domestic violence. All of it is repulsive. There is no excuse for any of the acts, but it all played more like symbols of extremes. There are plenty of gross and vile acts in The Bedwetter but many seem more exhibitionistic than organic to the narrative.
Russel’s a psychopath. The title says so. I just didn’t buy the switch flip. He had plenty of reasons to go off, mind you. So maybe I’m too picky.
The things that go undiscovered/uninvestigated in The Bedwetter are hard to ignore. The final battle consists largely of expository dialogue. The reveals are actually quite good, but too dense and clumsily handled - but they did a lot to elevate my opinion of The Bedwetter.
TLDR: A miss for me but not without its merits and intrigue.
aghoststory's review against another edition
I must say reading this book was truly an experience and one that I wasn't necessarily prepared for.
We meet Russell Pisarek, a 26-year-old who comes across as your typical "nice guy" just looking for connection, but due to the trauma from an abusive household, he is unable to. Also, he wets the bed and has demented dreams involving his mother with electric clippers that electrocute her, and then urinating on her. The title is literal and the book description is one hundred percent accurate to the contents of the book.
Honestly, I have never read a book like The Bedwetter, and I can understand why. I am not its target audience and I do struggle to understand who exactly is. The book is filled with homophobia, sexism, animal abuse, extreme language, and horrible sexual situations. It's dirty and grimy and makes you feel like you need to take a shower after, but now you can't because Russell as somehow managed to ruin that too. As soon as you start reading, you are transported into Russell's dark and disgusting world and it never lets up. I mean, there are two and a half pages of him just talking about his balls.
The book is written in a diary format so these are all Russell's thoughts. He is childish, petty, and blames everyone around him for his own disturbing thoughts and behaviors. It is absolutely not meant to be enjoyable in the least, but that is not to say that Lee Allen Howard is not a good writer. Howard does manage to create fully fleshed-out characters and a backstory that sets up the events of the book well. However, I am not sure that the purpose of the book is or even if there is meant to be one. There are moments where I feel like you are supposed to sympathize with Russell, but it is almost impossible. While you continue to read, you do get used to the way that Russells writes out his thoughts and all of the language. It becomes less and less shocking.
Also, the ending seemed kind of rushed and like it didn't fit in with the rest of the book. It completely took a turn and felt like it was forced in there for shock value, but fell flat.
The Bedwetter is not an enjoyable experience and I do not think I would recommend this to anyone who isn't familiar with this particular genre. But it will forever be stuck in my head so at least the author did something right.
*Thank you to Book Publicity Services and the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a review. All thoughts are my own and are always honest.*
We meet Russell Pisarek, a 26-year-old who comes across as your typical "nice guy" just looking for connection, but due to the trauma from an abusive household, he is unable to. Also, he wets the bed and has demented dreams involving his mother with electric clippers that electrocute her, and then urinating on her. The title is literal and the book description is one hundred percent accurate to the contents of the book.
Honestly, I have never read a book like The Bedwetter, and I can understand why. I am not its target audience and I do struggle to understand who exactly is. The book is filled with homophobia, sexism, animal abuse, extreme language, and horrible sexual situations. It's dirty and grimy and makes you feel like you need to take a shower after, but now you can't because Russell as somehow managed to ruin that too. As soon as you start reading, you are transported into Russell's dark and disgusting world and it never lets up. I mean, there are two and a half pages of him just talking about his balls.
The book is written in a diary format so these are all Russell's thoughts. He is childish, petty, and blames everyone around him for his own disturbing thoughts and behaviors. It is absolutely not meant to be enjoyable in the least, but that is not to say that Lee Allen Howard is not a good writer. Howard does manage to create fully fleshed-out characters and a backstory that sets up the events of the book well. However, I am not sure that the purpose of the book is or even if there is meant to be one. There are moments where I feel like you are supposed to sympathize with Russell, but it is almost impossible. While you continue to read, you do get used to the way that Russells writes out his thoughts and all of the language. It becomes less and less shocking.
Also, the ending seemed kind of rushed and like it didn't fit in with the rest of the book. It completely took a turn and felt like it was forced in there for shock value, but fell flat.
The Bedwetter is not an enjoyable experience and I do not think I would recommend this to anyone who isn't familiar with this particular genre. But it will forever be stuck in my head so at least the author did something right.
*Thank you to Book Publicity Services and the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a review. All thoughts are my own and are always honest.*
findingmontauk1's review against another edition
3.0
"In the house where we lived when Becky and I were in school, my mother's lying on the basement floor of our house, fugly and naked on the red linoleum, with the electric hair clippers jammed up her cooz."
That's a pretty powerful opening sentence for The Bedwetter, a story told in journal-esque format of a young man with a pissy past and a not-so-great present. Our protagonist wet the bed as a child and his mother punished him by shaving his head. He finally felt he could trust someone and she betrayed him by telling the whole school and he endured endless bullying, name calling, and teasing ever since. Now he is an adult who is quite twisted - he started wetting the bed again, he fantasizes about shaving women, and he is visited by The Piss Fairy in his dreams.
What I enjoyed most about this book is how the author really lets you see what a psychopath our main character is. And since we get to read it from his POV we can see just how highly and mighty he thinks of himself, too. Nothing is his fault and everything else can either be explained away or blamed on someone else. This is the guy that weirds you out and annoys you. And this is the guy that you don't want to be friends with. And, in the end, it's all for good reason.
3.5 stars for this one and I thank the author for the review copy! I can almost see more books with this protagonist from how it ended and now that he has "found himself" and fulfilled the dark desires of The Piss Fairy.
Trigger warnings: misogyny, homophobia, and animal cruelty.
That's a pretty powerful opening sentence for The Bedwetter, a story told in journal-esque format of a young man with a pissy past and a not-so-great present. Our protagonist wet the bed as a child and his mother punished him by shaving his head. He finally felt he could trust someone and she betrayed him by telling the whole school and he endured endless bullying, name calling, and teasing ever since. Now he is an adult who is quite twisted - he started wetting the bed again, he fantasizes about shaving women, and he is visited by The Piss Fairy in his dreams.
What I enjoyed most about this book is how the author really lets you see what a psychopath our main character is. And since we get to read it from his POV we can see just how highly and mighty he thinks of himself, too. Nothing is his fault and everything else can either be explained away or blamed on someone else. This is the guy that weirds you out and annoys you. And this is the guy that you don't want to be friends with. And, in the end, it's all for good reason.
3.5 stars for this one and I thank the author for the review copy! I can almost see more books with this protagonist from how it ended and now that he has "found himself" and fulfilled the dark desires of The Piss Fairy.
Trigger warnings: misogyny, homophobia, and animal cruelty.
prettyinpapercuts's review
3.0
3.5/5 stars
First off, thanks so much to the author, Lee Allen Howard for so kindly sending me a physical copy of his book in exchange for a review.
Russell Pisarek hasn't pissed the bed in years, so why has he started regressing to bedwetting once again? Could it be his menial job? His living situation? The fact that he was abused for bedwetting as a child? His twisted desires to subdue and shave women?
I thought The Bedwetter did some things well. I really liked the set up of it being a journal. It very much read that way, and I thought it worked. I think to capture Russell the right way, we needed to know his thoughts as recorded by his own hand. Reading The Bedwetter like it was a real journal helped you get into his head. He thinks he is the literal shit. He thinks he's clever and charming in his own weird way, and that if he has any faults, they can't be blamed on his own action. I don't think this would have been as effective any other way.
The big thing that disappointed me here was that the synopsis didn't seem very true to what happened in the book. I expected this weird entity, the Piss Fairy, to be one of the main focuses of the book. In fact, that's what sold me on it in the first place. That's why I agreed to read and review. So it was a real bummer that we only see the Piss Fairy, I think, twice? And only near the very end of the book. In fact, none of what the synopsis describes happens until the last 80 or so pages. This isn't a long book, but it was still disappointing that what interested me most didn't happen basically until the climax of the book. That meant, for me, that a lot of the beginning kind of meandered into territory I didn't find all that interesting.
I will also say that there is violence towards animals in this book. I SHOULD have figured there would be. The synopsis does mention past acts of violence towards cats, but since it also says he's basically graduated to bigger and better things, I thought might be mentioned as a past action and but not acted out in the book. However, I was mistaken, which is my bad. I'm not counting that towards my rating. I feel that readers should be aware. I, for one, am shamelessly sensitive towards harm towards animals.
All in all, not a bad book by any means! It was a quick and, at parts, intense read. This definitely felt like a good origin story, like maybe a prequel to some slasher film. Russell sure was an interesting dude to analyze for a couple hundred pages.
First off, thanks so much to the author, Lee Allen Howard for so kindly sending me a physical copy of his book in exchange for a review.
Russell Pisarek hasn't pissed the bed in years, so why has he started regressing to bedwetting once again? Could it be his menial job? His living situation? The fact that he was abused for bedwetting as a child? His twisted desires to subdue and shave women?
I thought The Bedwetter did some things well. I really liked the set up of it being a journal. It very much read that way, and I thought it worked. I think to capture Russell the right way, we needed to know his thoughts as recorded by his own hand. Reading The Bedwetter like it was a real journal helped you get into his head. He thinks he is the literal shit. He thinks he's clever and charming in his own weird way, and that if he has any faults, they can't be blamed on his own action. I don't think this would have been as effective any other way.
The big thing that disappointed me here was that the synopsis didn't seem very true to what happened in the book. I expected this weird entity, the Piss Fairy, to be one of the main focuses of the book. In fact, that's what sold me on it in the first place. That's why I agreed to read and review. So it was a real bummer that we only see the Piss Fairy, I think, twice? And only near the very end of the book. In fact, none of what the synopsis describes happens until the last 80 or so pages. This isn't a long book, but it was still disappointing that what interested me most didn't happen basically until the climax of the book. That meant, for me, that a lot of the beginning kind of meandered into territory I didn't find all that interesting.
I will also say that there is violence towards animals in this book. I SHOULD have figured there would be. The synopsis does mention past acts of violence towards cats, but since it also says he's basically graduated to bigger and better things, I thought might be mentioned as a past action and but not acted out in the book. However, I was mistaken, which is my bad. I'm not counting that towards my rating. I feel that readers should be aware. I, for one, am shamelessly sensitive towards harm towards animals.
All in all, not a bad book by any means! It was a quick and, at parts, intense read. This definitely felt like a good origin story, like maybe a prequel to some slasher film. Russell sure was an interesting dude to analyze for a couple hundred pages.
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