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cheye13'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
1.0
I didn't enjoy these at all. I liked the penultimate story "Birthmark" best, and yet it was still a 2-3 star. The longer stories seemed to drone and the short ones ended too abruptly, as if the stories should trade structures.
The writing itself is decent, but I couldn't get beyond the content. Nearly every story involved some kind of sexual taboo, ranging from infidelity to incest. The topics alone don't necessarily ruin stories for me, but the taboos seemed to be more for shock than function. This collection likely went over my head. With focus, I can maybe see where this may function as a catharsis for sexual traumas (perhaps the normalized portrayal of traumatic experiences makes one feel less alone?), but it didn't hit that button for me.
Before reading, I specifically researched content warnings and found none, which is probably why this was a let down. I feel I may have been able to "get" the stories a little more had I been prepared for the challenging content. As far as synopses go, theres quite a gulf between "old man is socially awkward" and "old man is only sexually interested in teenagers."
The writing itself is decent, but I couldn't get beyond the content. Nearly every story involved some kind of sexual taboo, ranging from infidelity to incest. The topics alone don't necessarily ruin stories for me, but the taboos seemed to be more for shock than function. This collection likely went over my head. With focus, I can maybe see where this may function as a catharsis for sexual traumas (perhaps the normalized portrayal of traumatic experiences makes one feel less alone?), but it didn't hit that button for me.
Before reading, I specifically researched content warnings and found none, which is probably why this was a let down. I feel I may have been able to "get" the stories a little more had I been prepared for the challenging content. As far as synopses go, theres quite a gulf between "old man is socially awkward" and "old man is only sexually interested in teenagers."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
There's a lot of nuance with taboo topics in this collection, so labeling sensitive content gets a little tricky, and so does sorting them into intensity levels. And while these challenging topics aren't portrayed in a positive manor, they're not strictly "challenged" either. A general note – if you find certain content triggering or troubling but you're determined to read this anthology, proceed with caution.bookishdov's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racism, Rape, and Sexual content