Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Dumb House by John Burnside

4 reviews

sarahweyand's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

2.5

Yeah so I think I got more than I bargained for with this one. The plot described in the synopsis was really only the last third of this very short book, and there was a little too much to contend with in the first half to be anything of worth to me. I will say, the prose and the questions about humanity and the soul are beautiful and deep and thought provoking, but I wouldn't ask anyone to read this book to get there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Violence, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Death, Blood, and Abandonment

Minor: Stalking

alisylvi'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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So grey, and such a beautiful use of language. This book was very captivating and interesting to say the least. The main character was very cold and distant, yet the reader was very close to his mind. And wasn’t the story disturbing? But I loved every single word of it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Murder, and Abandonment

golivia's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder

jjb21's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Murder