Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Bluebeard's Castle by Anna Biller

10 reviews

s_armstrong's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.75

good god what was that

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kiwisnyds's review against another edition

While I liked Biller's The Love Witch, this novel is not very well written or edited. While reading I felt as if Biller was attempting to use her amazing skill with visual media, but in novel form it fell flat and just made me feel like it badly needed another round of edits to pare it down. The simplistic and unbelievable dialogue, while in her movies lends to a sense of unease, just did not translate well to the written format. I wanted to love this novel. The presentation of it is stunning. But the disconnect between the main character's supposed knowledge of abuse and how she reacted to it in real life was just so unbelievable. The manipulation of the abuser wa so surface-level and obvious that it makes me wonder how the protagonist couldn't see through it. This novel could have been a great commentary on the insidiousness of abusers and how easy it is to become entrapped, which I feel the author was attempting, but it was done poorly enough that it seemed like a parody of those themes. The novel also didn't actually feel gothic or horror to me. You can describe an old mansion and nightgowns for 12 pages but doing so does not make the work actually gothic. Maybe I'm being harsh, but I just wanted to skim until the end, so instead I put it down. I hope someone else will love and appreciate it. All that said, if Biller decides to write another novel I still might check it out. It can be really hard to get a debut right, and like I said the pieces were there but just didn't quite make it to the final work.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Gaslighting

ahappyhallowqueen's review against another edition

dark 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, and Violence

sexytinatrainconductress's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

elizalk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

3.0

Anna Biller's style is so distinct, I didn't love it at first, but picturing it in my mind in the same style as her movie the love witch helped the book grow on me. desperately sad and accurate depiction of the justifications many women make to stay with (evil) men. the story felt like promising young women if it were written better, still left me a bit unsatisfied

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment

marinalikeaboatyard's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

1.0

emerald fennell would direct the shit out of this 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation

i_would_prefer_not_to's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

I can't tell if it's written badly as pastiche or if it's just badly written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

lateromantic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

A slow start - if you're a fan of Biller's films you'll like it, the prose has that same stilted, photographic quality as her scripts, and she drops in many references and aesthetic tidbits. I wouldn't call it feminist so much as female-gaze - there is rage but no righteousness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

bones_the_baker's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, and Blood

katietregs's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I still hope this becomes a movie! I picked this up because I absolutely adore the Love Witch, and I think if you like Anna Biller’s movies, then you’ll enjoy this book. She does a masterful job of translating the language of movies into her writing, and I think the tongue in cheek nature of the Love Witch is ever present in Bluebeards’s castle. It’s dark and disturbing, but the melodrama elevates it to something more enjoyable than a story of a smart woman falling victim to an abusive man. It’s equal parts poignant and parody. 

That said, I did find that it started to drag a bit at the 3/4s mark.

In hindsight, I appreciate how the writing became more frantic and train-of-thought as Judith started spiraling. But while I was reading I found myself getting a little bored by the page after page of circular thinking. I think some people might dislike the very straightforward description of Gavin’s crimes at the end, as it left little room for interpretation, but I think it was important that reader’s were invited to look at their own potentially problematic interpretations of the story. 

Overall, I’m very impressed by Biller’s writing. This book felt really fresh and different to me, and I’m glad I picked it up.  Like the Love Witch, this isn’t for everybody, but it’s worth your time if you like romance books and golden-age thrillers, but tire of the problematic tropes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Blood, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

This book is meant to paint a sympathetic picture of how women become trapped in abusive relationships.