Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica

16 reviews

cozy_soul_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 "Human evil knows no limits."
 🗡 Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird
 By Agustina Baztterrica 

😨 One Of My Favorite Short Story Collections 😨 

✨️🗡 Mary Carminum ✨️🗡
 👻🚎 The Solitary Ones 👻🚎
 🍒Roberto 
 👽 Anita & Happiness 
 🪴 Soil
 🚌 The Wolf's Breath
 💀 The Dead
 🎫📽 Elena Marie Sandoz 
 🕳 A Hole That Hides A House 

🖤 Mini Review 🖤
 Teicher vs Nietzsche was darkly funny. The story titled Hell had the most poetic and horrific descriptions of the older women and what they do to a bird, this collection will leave you breathless and scared. I found this collection of stories dark and terrifying. There were stories that felt like a dark nightmare full of wild thoughts and warped views of life, the body, and what madness looks like in different people. I also thought it was interesting stories like Soil and The Dead were from POV of children which made them even scarier. 
🚎⚡️My #1 Favorite Short Story was called "The Solitary Ones," all I'll say is the electricity goes out on New Years while a women is on the last train alone... wow my heart was racing and I was glad to be in a well lit highly populated place when I listened to this story. 
💙 My 2nd favorite was a story was revenge, female rage, and was incredibly haunting... a man who targets women is haunted himself while going to a rock concert. The story as called Mary Carminum. Going into this story blind reminded me a lot of the vibes of They Never Learn by Layne Fargo. 
🎫📽 My 3rd Favorite Short Story was about the fictional movie, "Eyes Of Pain" was definitely top 3 best stories as it was about a movie and the last copy being with a man obsessed with the leading lady. 
🖤💀🗡 If you decide to read this series of stories in one haunting experience I highly reccomend experiencing as an audiobook ~ felt like a spooky podcast hidden behind dusty books. 
🚨Please check trigger warnings prior to reading as this short story collection is haunting and discusses adult content. 
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cerasaurusrex's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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forgedopulence's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Reviews for each story are as short as I can keep them. I Also had a bit of trouble finding trigger/content warnings for the stories, so I documented some to hopefully make the search a little easier for someone else.

A Light, Swift, and Monstrous Sound - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Suicide, Body Horror
This was a banger, literally.

Roberto - ⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Pedophilia
I'm so uncomfy, but I still don't get it?

Unamuno's Boxes - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
TW/CW: Serial Killer
This felt rushed. I really would have liked more context. The last line really hit, though.

Candy Pink - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
TW/CW: Psychological Break, Suicide
This was literally the most disturbing story in the entire anthology. Oh my god.

Anita and Happiness - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Hint of Murder Fantasy
Solid. I enjoyed it.

Dishwasher - ⭐️
TW/CW: Mental Illness
What was the point?

Earth - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
TW/CW: Pedophilia, Murder, Toxic Family, Child Abandonment
This really hit me in the feels, but the conclusion is a bit unrealistic. 

Perfect Symmetry - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Murder
Again, this needs more context.

The Wolf's Breath - ⭐️
No major TW/CW.
This read like a draft.

Teicher vs. Nietzsche - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Fantasy of Animal Cruelty/Death (cat)
JUSTICE. I hope the cat eats him.

The Dead - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Parental Death, Grief from Child's Perspective 
Wonderfully written.

Elena-Marie Sandoz - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
TW/CW: Stalking/Obsession, Suicide, Psychological Break
This story was set up pretty much perfectly, but it just wasn't intriguing enough for me. Women can't just exist. I know this. I don't need the reminder.

The Slowness of Pleasure - ⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Yearning for Death
Death is a pleasurable experience, I guess?

No Tears - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Funeral Voyeurism
A slow dance between the happiness and sadness that is inevitable within grief. Beautiful.

The Continuous Equality of the Circumference - ⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Mutilation
Striving for perfection will kill you, and you know it, but you do it anyway.

A Hole Hides a House - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Child Death
Absolutely tragic, being that close to freedom. At least he's dead though.

Hell - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Animal Cruelty/Death (birds)
The first glimpse of freedom not taken is the first glimpse of hell. The impact would have been better with a human subject, but I still very much enjoyed the premise.

Architecture - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Religious Horror
I feel the same about the church I was raised in. 

Mary Carminum - ⭐️
TW/CW: Religious/Cult Horror
This just felt thrown together. I have no idea how decisions were made, what anyone was doing, or what I was supposed to take from this story.

The Solitary Ones - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW/CW: Mention of Animal Death (dog)
Routine creepy ghost story.

Overall Average: 3.35⭐️ but I'm happy enough to bump it to 4⭐️
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theliteraryhooker's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.5

This was a letdown after how much I loved Tender is the Flesh. The writing isn't bad, exactly, but it feels very detached and clinical. A lot of these stories are only a handful of pages long and barely have a plot, so there's not much to grab onto. Maybe 3 of the stories are ones I would say I enjoyed, the rest just kind of...existed. Meh. 
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bookworm_haley's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

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priscillarobock's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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magsnificent's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A

5.0

My first five star of 2024. 

Where to begin on this book? It was so impactful, and my first thought was that I was so glad I bought it instead of borrowing it from the library. 
This book was listed as horror, and while it does deal with some horror-like themes, I find it more psychological and just dark themed than anything. 

What stuck out to me the most about this book were the themes of loss. I found myself clutching this book to my chest after every story and absorbing it. 

Please don't go in to this book expecting something scary. If you like dark and psychological, stories that make you think, then definitely DEFINITELY go for this one. I will be re reading. 
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kjlewis494's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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bonnie3088's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book is magical and raw. It is gruesome in subtle and overt ways, disturbing in the artisti  ways. It is a book that focuses on the horror of being a woman, the innocence of being a child, and the weight of being a parent. 
I think the writing is amazing and challenges what we know. The imagery is remarkable and the scenes she writes makes me shutter even rethinking them.
There is a variety of stories encased in this short work that I think would appeal to a variety of ppl. I think there are works in here that don't need a lot of critical thinking to understand the overall message and there are some that you would need to take a step back from and really take in all that has been given. 

All in all this book will stay in my mind for a long time and deserves more attention. 
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iseefirede's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

3.0

A decent collection of spooky short stories. The sentences can be very long and that made it a little harder for me to read. Given how short the stories were it was hard to appreciate them completely. Some of the stories felt rushed and would have been better flushed out more.
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