Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

44 reviews

wardenred's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Myths are full of lies.
This is not one of them.

A short, quick, and lyrical read that felt to me less like a story and more like a mood. There’s a lot of body horror here, and on one hand, the way it’s all wrapped in long poetic sentences and clever similes makes it more bearable. On the other hand, the prose contains some evocative imagery that got stuck to my mind and will probably keep disturbing me for days on end.

Speaking of prose, while there are a lot of beautiful, vivid sentences here, on the whole I feel like the author overdid it a little. All those lacy figures of speech convey a mood perfectly, but sometimes obfuscate meaning and substance. And there is definitely a lot of substance here, too! I liked the horror rendition of the mermaid myth, the scary cult in taiga, the nods at numerous fairy tales, the Plague Doctor’s wry wit, and that underlying thread of how when monsters and humans co-exist, the lines blur between them and it’s no longer clear who’s the bigger monster. But I do feel that some parts of the story would have more impact if they were delivered a bit more clearly and concisely.

Still, as far as moods go, this was a beautiful one. Also, terrible and disturbing (very good for horror).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Confinement, Body horror, Child death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cannibalism

willow1113's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Confinement

fox_at_the_circus's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved how poetic and flowery and even animalistic at points the writing of this book got. It really pulled me into the world and set the atmosphere of the story perfectly! And I love this world; even though the book is pretty short, it still felt like a developed setting with hints and more lore.
And I really like the two main characters and their relationship with each other, too. This is a story about two people dealing with their trauma together, healing together in a way, and supporting each other throughout it. They are not perfect or try to be, but they feel realistic and are loyal to each other. I especially loved the line, where the plague doctor calls out the "your trauma makes you stronger" bullshit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Medical content, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Death, Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Grief, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Confinement

valodniece's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Daaaaaamn. I'm not sure if Khaw intended this to be a criticism of the Russian state throughout all of its incarnations (imperial, communist, modern), but it certainly is. Set in the taiga, worshiping those who hurt you and cannibalize you and the belief that they will still somehow lift you up but never do... on the surface, sure, it is a dark and cannibalistic Little Mermaid retelling, told through the looking glass inspired by Lord of the Flies, but it really reads as more than that. Excellent work by Cassandra Khaw, and I will definitely be reading more of their work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Bullying, Kidnapping, and Domestic abuse

slytherinlyss's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

At times it was difficult to distinguish which character was speaking; their personalities were just a bit too similar for their love story to truly blossom. Their motivations and traumas were nearly identical, as well. Overall, a short, enjoyable tale of two ruthless beings in an evil world. Realistic, yet incredibly magical. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Animal death, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Death, and Domestic abuse

cwerber's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Holy shit, y'all. 

This novelette is something else and I mean that in the best way possible. It will turn your notion of the little mermaid story upside down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Gore

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Murder, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape

Seriously, look at my warnings. This isn't for the faint of heart.

clynns's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Pregnancy, Rape, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Vomit, Confinement, Death, and Torture

queerreaderchaos's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Body horror, Torture, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, and Cannibalism

chrysanthxmum's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Confinement and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pregnancy, Torture, and Miscarriage

bangiebangs's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

4.5*

I read this not even knowing what genre this was going to be, and I can recommend doing that. Pick it up now, come read the reviews later and see what you think. It's definitely worth it. 

This story is dark and uncomfortable, relentlessly tricking you into thinking what will happen next and then leading you somewhere else entirely. Extremely interesting, couldn't put it down, and even if I don't usually read... horror? Is it horror? ... I really enjoyed this one. 

Beautiful language, excellent levels of horror, definitely recommended. I'm only not giving it a full 5* because I'm not sure whether I'd reread it... but maybe? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Gore, Cannibalism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Death, Child death, Physical abuse, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Religious bigotry