Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Devil House: A Novel by John Darnielle

4 reviews

whofilets's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

1.0

Read by the author, in a slow and detached voice. Jumps around with narrators and situations. I was invested though, and wanted to find out the mystery of the killer... In the end it was a total letdown. I would have been happier if it ended a couple chapters early

and the main writer-character just had to wrestle with his actions after being called out by the victims family member, and never knowing who the 'real killer' was.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Vomit

kthealey's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Sexism, Xenophobia, and Vomit

yrioona's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Weighed down a bit by metanarrative, deliberate repetition, and high concept touches (really could've done without the barely-relevant medieval interlude in fake gothic font), and treading some overly familiar ground as far as JD's themes and settings, but still really compelling and complex. It has a skillfully done puzzle-box/labyrinth structure that leads you through without spelling things out too much, teasing a straightforward narrative about troubled teens resorting to violence, but then gradually zooming out to reveal  
a kind of class-conscious existential horror story about what happens when you apply compassion and imagination to the true crime genre. I picked this up because I'm a mountain goats fan and WIWV was pretty ok, but this is a huge step up from WIWV and it made me look forward to what's next. Pretty incredible what this guy can do! Wish he would write some more interesting women characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

vixenreader's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

This novel reads more like a textbook than anything. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying and Physical abuse

This novel delves into the subjects of poverty and there is a murder that involves chopping up an entire body into small pieces after committing murder in self defence.