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blackcatkai's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
no. i get that it's supposed to be a satire overall and youre not meant to like the main character, but my biggest issue was how boring the entire novel is. and technically, it's only a satire in regards to the universe of food in real life, not the sexism or murder or sex or society as a whole or whatever. so maybe if it had JUST been about that, it would've been more successful for me. then the character of Dorothy would've read better with her vapid, self important, condescending, holier than thou bullshit. but not here, not when you throw in everything else.
pacing? all over the place, mainly slow. cannibalism and violence? well, its THERE, technically? but it takes forever to get to the gruesome bits and then theyre lackluster at best. this doesnt feel feminist or inclusive or a biting commentary on anything other than narcissists suck. there's also a ton of nuanced information presented in a non-nuanced way that feels like im reading an incomplete wikipedia page with no sources and missing key context. we get it, the author learned about a lot of things and wanted us to know about them, even if some info was left out, leading to what feels like misinformation, even in a fictional story.
this is more a book about gratuitous sex, fancy food, and trips to europe because its the best (except new york city, of course) than it is about cis-female empowerment, cannibalism, or violence. its repetitive use of simile, speaking down to the reader, and infodumps, left me disengaged, bored, and desperate for the end.
basically, this book was not for me, and im so glad its finally over. thank you.
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Transphobia, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Genocide, Pedophilia, Racism, Slavery, and Outing
lycheejelly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Stalking, Outing, and Classism