Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

119 reviews

comradestylin's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

One of the best scary books I've ever read. Tactile in a way I've never seen done before, this book feels bigger on the inside. A dense, multi-perspective thrilling story that never feels predictable. It transcends most conventional labels. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

hedsek's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

So many thoughts, so little energy. Maybe I'll return here at some point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Car accident

greatdistractions's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Suicide, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Rape, and Car accident

fl0ralaura's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

This book, in form alone, is wildly inventive and imaginative. When I heard it took the author 10 years to write, I believed it instantly because this is so much detail and so many hidden clues and puzzles between these pages. I love “weird books”, books that play with form, and books that riff off the familiar. I was shocked by how touching I would find aspects of the story especially Karen.

That being said, this book is disturbing and creepy. The first half in particular caused related nightmares of unheimlich architecture. The Minotaur story, especially as it relates to themes of fatherhood and shame were particularly moving. 

My one real critique is that in parts of the second half it drags a bit and I, at times, found Truant’s purple prose boring. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

mybookishdelights's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

5.0

This book was a T R I P! It was hard to get through and I kept wondering "will it ever end??" but the experience is something I will never forget. I will likely even reread it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism and Addiction

raidingkvatch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

keiraonyxraven's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

tzanet08's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

pennergy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Suicide

cryosphinx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-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

I didn't get too much of the 'horror' aspect that some people experienced. There is some upsetting moments but nothing that kept me from sleeping at night. It's convoluted, a maze of a book but SHUT UP JOHNNY it delivered on what I think it set out to do. No other book as a subreddit of people constantly having to check with others "Hey, is this a misprint? Does anyone else have this in their edition?" and that's kind of special. But I can also totally see how it's not for everyone (This is not for you). But it's like playing a puzzle game in book form and finding that the journey is better than the destination. But what puzzles are actually puzzles or just things to drive you nuts? That's sort of the point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Death of parent