Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Gone to See the River Man by Kristopher Triana

10 reviews

chantheman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Death of parent

stephanieluxton's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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

5.0

I was a little hesitant to give this book 5 stars because it wasn't absolutely perfect by any means, however I really enjoyed reading it. Some parts made me incredibly uncomfortable but they weren't there just for shock value - they did add to the story.

I don't like the official synopsis for this story because I feel like it reveals a little too much of things that would be better as a surprise. This is the story of Lori, a nearly 40 year old woman who has been having a correspondence via letters and visits with a brutal serial killer named Edmund, who's in jail. After developing a sense of trust and kinship, Edmund tasks Lori with going on a mission to deliver something to The River Man. Lori, wanting to prove her devotion, accepts the quest (bringing along her disabled sister), which turns out to be darker journey than she could have ever imagined. 

This book is neat because it jumps back and forth between Lori and Abby's journey along the river to Lori's adolescence, where we are given the information needed to understand why Lori is the way she is. We also get glimpses of Lori and Edmunds letters to each other as the story goes on. The pacing in this book is excellent. Things are revealed gradually and we get a deep look into Lori's psyche.

Some of this is uncomfortable to read but it works. I'm not sure the book ended in the most satisfying way but the ending worked.

A few parts of this story, more so towards the beginning of their journey were quite unsettling.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, and War

These are major spoilers but the worst things that happen in this book are:

We find out Lori repeatedly molested and blackmailed her little brother when she was a teenager to the point where he developed an eating disorder and died from the shame and humiliation. There's a scary scene in a cellar in which Lori finds a rotting desecrated corpse and needs to reach inside it to retrieve a key - the description is pretty intense. Lori is responsible for her sister's disability and brain damage after pushing her off a cliff. Edmunds letters to Lori are pretty off-putting - he describes his fetish for killing and SAing asian women based off of the atrocities his uncle committed in vietnam - the descriptions aren't too intense but it's still unpleasant.

ohsunnyaa's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

1.5

First of all,  I expected this to be messed up but not in this

(incest)

way. I read this for gore and murder and I'm not really satisfied with what I got. I felt like for the majority of the book nothing happened. Yes, some parts were shocking

incest rape

, but shocking doesn't mean good.
It's also very obvious a man wrote this because of how the female characters were acting.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent and War

violargento's review

• Loveable characters? No

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Incest, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent

fuent020's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I wish I could wash my eyes with bleach, but here we are.  Wonderfully told, but I wish I never read it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

nporter5's review against another edition

that was…..a lot

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Gore, Incest, and Rape

Moderate: Eating disorder and Murder

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

dyingfetusmax's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Incest, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Murder

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and War

somelatenightreading's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, and Murder

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Vomit and Death of parent

maggotea's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

2.25

ableism abounds in this novel. the racism, murder, and sexual assault are all viewed as negative, but the ableism is meant to make us sympathize with our main character. not the case for me, i would not recommend this one and will not be reading it again. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

mynameisacolour's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

1.0

Vile.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail