Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

9 reviews

annie_brewer's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Read via audiobook (Orion Publishing Group Limited)

A superb book. The writing is impeccable, non superfluous but provides astounding imagery. Each character has so much dimension and their perfect regularity lends to faceted motivations.

Delivered through letters, Eva's tone alludes to indifference and banality - a reactionary position of self defense, a methodic distancing from the atrocities of her son, or exhaustion? Her crude apology for her own loss at a funeral of a victim exposes her grief and helplessness, yet possibly hints at self-absorbtion and innate narcissism. 

Is Eva an unreliable narrator? Does Eva also have psychopathic tendancies? Was Eva oppressively cynical? Was Eva suffering from post-partum depression, impacting her bonding with Kevin?

The nuances between Kevin and Eva are expertly crafted, rendering the relationship consistantly teetering between obliteration and mutual respect with each interaction. The suprising accountability they hold each other to, valuing authenticity over compassion, stunts their relationships with others who can never reciprocate the grittiness and pervasion.

A novel that will forever make me question nature vs nurture.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - Unspecified but implied.

fernash's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Bullying, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Sexism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Medical trauma

sweetlittleredw's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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

This book… I enjoy being mentally ground up. I enjoy reading depraved things (tender is the flesh, woom, the troop, etc) but the ending of this book… I didn’t expect Eva to say what she said. When we find out what happened, I literally had to pause and rewind to make sure I heard it right. I knew it was coming; I knew with that final “are you sure you don’t want to say another goodbye” line bad things were on the horizon. I had no idea it was going to be that cruel. 
Character-wise, I could not stand Franklin. He was constantly undermining Eva. Eva, herself, was a grating character especially with how she talked about people. Definitely hated characters. 
Overall, I enjoyed the writing style. I enjoyed that ending because it’ll stick with me for awhile. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

annahollamby's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.0

thought-provoking, disturbing, and ultimately, i fear, unforgettable. the detailed writing really adds to the realism of the story. eva, our narrator, is unlikeable but certainly enthralling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Excrement, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Gaslighting

ellilo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Pregnancy

thereadingdude's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse and Rape

Minor: Body horror, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy

triangular_pascal's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

2.75

Extremely uncomfortable to read -then again, perhaps that's the point, to confront that which makes us uneasy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Classism

kstericker's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

thetruthatallhazards's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship