Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

19 reviews

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.

---

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

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

---

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

vigilo's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm and Suicide

ethanlaz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

cgoiris's review against another edition

This is a difficult one to give stars. I sort of think I get what the author was trying to do. I can see multiple layers to the story, from criticising media critics to trying to evoke a deeply unsettled feeling that follows the reader beyond the book.

But there were also parts I despised. Why does every woman in this book have to be profoundly damaged? Why does Bambi never really get a personality beyond motherly concern for our main character? Why does the author try to establish deep and bleak backstories with a couple of sentences, multiple times? It's already a 700 page book, trees died for this, don't be shy, flesh it out. 

I'm gonna try to do the content warnings but I'm probably gonna forget a few because there's A LOT. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Forced institutionalization

bites_of_books's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The amount of effort and work that went into House of Leaves is something that I can really appreciate. There were certain sections where the creepiness of the darkness inside the house was truly palpable but anytime that I was close to diving deep into that horror, the academic style of writing took me away from it. At times I was also really interested in the academic discussions regarding subjects ranging from physics to history and linguistics, but it was truly difficult to call it an enjoyable experience. 
There are many interpretations about this book, ranging from who is narrating, the true meaning of the house, and even the timeline of events. 
I don't think I can recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun book to read, but if you're into deep dives into linguistics, philosophy, poetry, physics, with two side stories that tell the stories of deeply troubled characters. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

chloebowie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Well… it was good enough to keep turning the page but bad enough to where I couldn’t tell you what happened 😅 it was everything and nothing all at once. Nothing was ever really resolved. It’s just stopped. 

If this weren’t a buddy read I don’t think I would’ve finished it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

itsbumley's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

voidkisses's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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 most insane books you’ll ever read. Go in as blind as possible and stick to it

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

magicant's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment