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ktb97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, and Child death
syzygy_savi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Death, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Murder, and Medical trauma
Minor: Sexual harassment
nadiaxm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Cannibalism
generaljinjur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
Graphic: Gore, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Child death, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Physical abuse, and Medical content
chavonnwshen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Murder
brynnfai's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Murder, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Cannibalism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Animal death
wordsareworlds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Colonisation, Gore, Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, Slavery, and Pregnancy
roxiehrt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Torture, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Gore, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, and Medical content
trollmila's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Torture, Death, Medical content, Murder, Gore, Body horror, Cannibalism, and Child death
faroukk's review against another edition
4.0
The main criticism I've seen of this book, and it is important to note, is that Khaw's prose is overly wordy to the point that it actually gets in the way of the story/understanding what's going on. To give you an idea of how "overly complicated" the vocabulary is: I had to google words I'd never seen before/didn't know the definitions to offhand at least 1-3 times per page as I was reading it (and I would say I have a pretty extensive vocabulary). I was willing to do the work of researching definitions while reading due to the shortness of the book, but I most likely would not have had the stamina to do so if the book were longer.
With that being said, I don't agree with the argument that the "thesaurus fluff" didn't add anything to the story. Khaw clearly has intention behind every single word that they write. The extremely flowery and vibrant prose is often used to beautifully describe some of the most horrific gore you could read. I find this intense contrast, to portray such monstrous and grotesque things so beautifully, to be incredibly evocative and found that it added to the unique atmosphere the book is trying to evoke. Additionally, once you actually google the words, it becomes clear that Khaw did not just randomly decide to use big words. The author has a clear understanding of what these words mean, and constructs sentences expertly to convey incredibly powerful imagery.
I'm also admittedly biased because I also actually really like books that use big words, and I love the opportunity to expand my vocabulary. I believe that reading is just as much about expanding your language/cognition as it is about understanding the thesis/story of the writing. With that belief in mind, I was willing to go on admittedly a very arduous journey of constantly pulling out my phone as I was reading to understand what the hell was going on.
Ultimately, if you're willing to stomach the gore and the purple prose, you will love this book. The tone and atmosphere is incredible, the monstrous psychology of desire within the characters is fascinating, and you'll come out of it having learned a bunch of new words! Like I said I'm biased so if the wordiness is not your thing then take my opinion with a grain of salt, but this was right up my alley and I came out of it inspired to write more myself.
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Torture, Blood, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Child death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail