Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Perfect Days by Raphael Montes

5 reviews

onemorepagecrew's review against another edition

4.5

Perfect Days by Raphael Montes (translated from Portuguese to English by Alison Entrekin) was a messed up and disturbing book that I absolutely could not put down.  If you like a wince-inducing thriller that borders on horror, this is one to pick up.  Thank you to @tbretc on IG for the recommendation! 

 

The story centers on Teo, a medical student who is caring for his paraplegic mother and living an isolated, non-social life.  A chance encounter with a woman, Clarice, kick starts the most unexpected and unnerving sequence of events, as Teo kidnaps Clarice and forces her to be his girlfriend.  There is one scene that will probably stay in my nightmares forever.  Go in knowing nothing else about the plot! 

 

BUT, do know this… the ableism is thick in this book and it’s hard to tell if it’s used intentionally to build Teo’s character or if the author is insensitive with wording.  Teo has all these ideas about what people “should” be like and it adds to how the reader feels about him so that could be the reason, but I just don’t know.  I expected to see something about it in the acknowledgements, but it’s not mentioned.  

 

You know what WAS in the acknowledgements though… this book is dedicated to his mom who asked him to stop writing such violent books and write a love story instead.  I laughed out loud that this was his way of doing it. 

 

This was my first book in the 2023 challenge to read #12translatedbooksin2023 and my first book of the year.  Cheers to many more! 

 

Content warnings: Body horror, Kidnapping, Death, Violence 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Kidnapping, Death, and Violence

thenonbinaryc's review against another edition

3.0

Would have been a great book if not for the ableism. 
The correct language for people with dwarfism is people first language or ‘little people’. A lot of people with dwarfism dislike the term dwarf because it plays into the Disney mythical creature ideology that’s both dehumanising and greatly infantilising. The author also repeatedly talks about how disabled people are burdens. And also made a comment about how pathetic it was that someone ‘looked like an Indian’. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Car accident, Drug use, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, and Gore

alereadstoomuch's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

kfreadsabook's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Murder, Stalking, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse

ashylibrarian's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was a wild ride...

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Medical content, Drug use, Death, Vomit, Torture, Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Gore

Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Excrement, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Sexism

Minor: Pregnancy