Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Brutes by Dizz Tate

12 reviews

jane_moriarty's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

5.0

Feral Girl Summer: book edition. Do you remember the days when you ran around with a crew of kids, never anything to do, always in the way of the grown-ups and still invisible at the same time? The horizon of your neighbourhood so narrow and yet the world of the adults so mysterious? 

This book perfectly conveys the feeling of those days. It feels more like a movie (maybe a Harmony Korine one?), drifting through the setting of endless Florida summer with dark clouds gathering, seen through the collective eyes of a group of thirteen year old girls who keep a close watch on everything happening in their neighbourhood. While the girls seem to understand more about the events than the adults around them, they are at the same time cut off from forming a full picture, the way children are.

Maybe this discrepancy is the reason why it seems like the book has no plot. We are left with a hazy feeling and a vague grasp of what seems to have happened. The inbetween chapters from the girls grown-up (very depressing) perspective hardly change that. I think I would have liked less metaphors and more plot resolutions, but the descriptions of the weirdness of girlhood and the Florida Gothic Ethel Cain vibes were so so good, the writing just sucked me in. Next Dizz Tate publication will be preordered.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

The epitome of no plot just vibes. I enjoyed the prose of this book, and the setting was very appealing to someone who loves that ‘ethel cain southern gothic’ vibe, but i was confused the entire time i was reading this and i’m not sure if it was in a good or bad way? That may have been the point of the book, that girlhood and growing up is a confusing experience, so if that’s the case then i absolutely got that, but if it wasn’t then i have no idea what the point of the story was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

hoestoevsky's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Trafficking, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

seventhswan's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I've seen other reviewers describe this as a "no plot, just vibes" book, but I thought there was actually a very clear storyline! It was creative and nuanced, reminding me of Stewart O'Nan's Ocean State and, as was clearly intended, The Virgin Suicides. That's not to say the vibes weren't immaculate - a sort of "pretty horror" - and Tate is an extremely talented descriptive writer who made my skin crawl at times with her imagery. I thought the shared narration worked extremely well throughout, but especially in making the conclusion of the novel extremely impactful. I cried multiple times. 

This would have been the perfect book for me, ticking all the boxes - well-written, evocative, personally meaningful, distinctive characters - had it not then relied on

the existence of an actual monster

at the end... magical realism strikes again. Sex traffickers and child neglect are monstrous enough! Introducing fantastical elements cheapened these very real issues a little for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, and Toxic friendship

orlagal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

flavi's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

geophony's review against another edition

4.0

Still processing (it gets kind of confusing, especially towards the end) but I loved the writing style, I loved the first-person plural narration, and the motifs of stones and doors are really intriguing.

I think I like the confusion/surreality. It's the sort of book where I think I'd get a lot out of a re-read. I should have checked the content warnings before reading but that's on me!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide and Pregnancy

miiikaaaylaaa's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I LOVED this book. Ate it right up! And then… the ending bombed for me. It started a little slow but picked up quickly during the middle. I was unsure of the plural first person perspective, but it quickly grew on me. I thought there were some very “quotable” discussions of girlhood - the good, the weird, the bad, and the ugly. Will definitely give it some time and revisit for a second read. The magical realism got a little too theoretical for me and I had to check Reddit/TikTok/GoodReads for some others’ opinions and analyses. Overall - it was good and I enjoyed it up to the very end. Don’t think I would recommend for most though!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

lv00009's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Alcohol