Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

The Haar by David Sodergren

7 reviews

sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

After hearing about this book online from a few influencers, I was intrigued by the plot. It is definitely bizarre and darkly hilarious with a beautiful message at the end.

I did find the antagonist, Patrick Grant, to be a bit 2-dimensional, so the kills didn’t feel as scary as one could expect as you were generally cheering for the monster. While that can be great for some, I definitely enjoy more intriguing bad guys.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in indie horror or Scottish folk tales. There is also some great dark humor.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Classism

Anything you may expect from a gory slasher film is likely described here.

raybudbury's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Loved this one a lot. Very heartwarming and charming for how gnarly the horror/gore was. 

I think this is a great example of an excellent horror story imo. Horror seems to be the hardest genre to write/direct. It’s hard to pace, it’s hard to make text/visuals scary, etc. 

This one is great because it uses both humour and heart to balance out the gore and horror of the situation.

+ it’s more like…. Is this monster really the bad guy in this situation or is it the big corporation that destroyed this small Scottish town to blame for the carnage

anyway loved it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

fangirljeanne's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

This is my The Notebook. Dissolved penis and all. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

matchamarimo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Self harm, Sexual content, and Classism

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Excrement, and Vomit

nicesideburns's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

Cried.

Perfect mix of body horror, horror, gore and romance. Muriel is so likeable I feel bad for every moment she faced. Adored the romance it was a breather from the horrors. Very bittersweet

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jaedia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

 This book was great. We follow a lovely old Scottish lady called Muriel who is being harrassed by the Grant Organisation, a company own by an American billionaire who has bought out most of Muriel's little home village by the sea to destroy the landscape and build a golf course. He's your basic Trump/Musk/Murdoch guy who thinks money can buy him everything. Nasty piece of work. All Muriel wants to do is live out the rest of her life in peace, but the machines changing her landscape run day and night and it seems every day, another friend takes the money and leaves. Muriel refuses. And then one day she makes an odd discovery that set the wheels of change into motion...

The Haar is a beautiful story with a lot of gore. It's intense, wondrous, and the perfect length. I will have to check out who of Sodergren's stuff! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, and Excrement

jalecd's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

This novel takes body horror to a level I had never even conceived and yet somehow still told a wonderful story of love, aging, and remembering the things that matter.  Muriel is an icon of the ages, and such a joy of a protagonist.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Dementia