Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

One's Company by Ashley Hutson

2 reviews

vaykay's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

Wonderful writing. Frustratingly true yet ridiculous characters. Improper usage of a butcher's knife.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Excrement, and Death of parent

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.5

disappointing. i loved the idea—protagonist goes insane in her own little fantasy land to escape trauma—but the plot didn't serve that purpose.

Bonnie doesn't go insane in complete isolation; in fact, those are the times she's happiest. rather, her spiral is caused by being denied compete isolation by a series of unfortunate events. so sealing yourself off from the rest of the world to reenact your favorite '70s sitcom is a good idea, it's just hard to execute

. which makes the "lesson learned" at the end—

i was wrong to distrust humanity, i should let people in, etc.

—simply the wrong takeaway.
edit 2: or maybe i'm wrong about that.

if Krystal wasn't stabbed despite Bonnie's vivid memory of it, what else might Bonnie have hallucinated? the documentary crew trespassing? Rita's whole existence? maybe she was in complete isolation, but her brain kept her in fight-or-flight mode as a PTSD-induced coping mechanism—"letting down your guard is how they got us last time, so here are fake scenarios to keep us prepared". if that's the case, it becomes a parable for trying to escape trauma without processing it, exactly what it says on the tin.

sometimes i worry i'm a bad reader! with this in mind i'm bumping my review up from 2 stars to 2.5. (this realization doesn't change the fact that i overall didn't enjoy the book.) or maybe the only reason i'm amenable to this theory is because it's been long enough (two weeks) since i read the book that i can't remember specific details to refute it. i suppose once an unreliable narrator, always an unreliable narrator—it's just ingrained in me to believe women 😫

beyond that, i didn't like the writing, it felt like the author was trying too hard while simultaneously neglecting the basics. sure this is nitpicky but who let "they could transform themselves into alien versions of themselves" be published.
the parts i liked best were its commentaries about gender and gender performance, how it blurred gender and sexuality. i wish Rita had a bigger role.
edit: THREE'S COMPANY IS A REAL TV SHOW??? i have no reference for '70s television so this whole time i was pretending it was a duller version of Friends

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Excrement, Vomit, and Alcohol

sexual violence is never described in detail but it's plot-critical