Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

33 reviews

suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

probably more like a 3.5— carter's rendition of classic fairy tale stories are frankly quite beautiful. it hits you with a punch in ways that are incredibly vivid, incredibly reflective, incredibly feminist, and— at times— incredibly erotic. i initially read "the bloody chamber" in high school, but we never read anything in the collection beyond that story. thus, to conclude my summer of horror readings, i honestly couldn't think of any better ending than revisiting an old book to see what i used to believe were the important aspects of the stories and what i believe them to be now. it also serves as a way for me to test how my interactions with the horror and gothic genre has evolved, so pretty neat!

that being said, i think this time reading it in full has given me a stronger sense of carter's capabilities as a writer and as a storyteller. each story left me thinking about a lot. considering the more feminist aspects of this text, she approaches far beyond what i expected it to: from detailed accounts of performativity within gender roles, to characters that openly embrace the "wild" regardless of the costs, even to leaving me thinking about how masculinity and femininity are both two sides of the same coin vastly effected under the patriarchy (a move that most feminist writers and thinkers barely consider!). i rate this a 3.5 because, as is the case with all short stories, some left me feeling great and others not so much. i also think that it would have been a better experience for me had i actually read most of these stories in their original forms, since carter adapts a kind of writing style that seems to replicate that (great for symbolism, but hard for accessibility). overall, i think it is worth the read if you're up for it. in particular, i liked "the bloody chamber," "the courtship of mr. lyon," "puss-in-boots," "the snowchild," and "the lady of the house of love"

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Dysphoria, Misogyny, and Body horror

rhi_'s review

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

0.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Torture, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Death, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexism, Incest, Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

ichthusangel's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Gore, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cannibalism, and Cultural appropriation

mrs_gale's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

1.0

I really didn't like this, i found it very tedious and often boring which surprised me. Carter is a feminist and you can tell with the themes of innocence female victims and the animalistic, primitive nature of male characters repeated in every story. 

I found the writing difficult to follow, Carter changes from characters and the narrator quite often which I didn't like. 


There are 10 short stories in this book. 

1. THE BLOODY CHAMBER.
Didn't mind this story, but I've never read the original Bluebeard story this is based from.

2. THE COURTSHIP OF MR LYON.
Just a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Nothing special yet I adore Beauty and the Beast so I thought I'd enjoy this but nope. 

3. THE TIGER'S BRIDE.
Another Beauty and the Beast retelling. Beauty ends up with the Beast because her dad gambles her away. Beauty's father isn't the usual sweet, kind man and I thought it was an interesting take on it . However the Beast just wants to see her naked and at the end Beauty turns herself into a beast so she can be with the Beast. Urgh. 

4. PUSS IN BOOTS.
Most interesting main character in all these stories. The story was a bit odd though. 

5. THE ERL KING.
Way too odd and didn't like it. 

6  THE SNOW CHILD.
Shortest story in this book by far but probably the most shocking. 

7. THE LADY OF THE HOUSE OF LOVE.
Didn't like this one at all. 

8. THE WEREWOLF.
Odd she wasn't bothered by her Granny's death. 

9. THE COMPANY OF WOLVES.
I don't remember this one. Odd since it's near the end of the book so I read it only a few hours ago. 

10  WOLF-ALICE.
A weird one. Didn't enjoy it.

Overall I do not recommend. This was almost a DNF for me. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Blood, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Cannibalism

amu_m3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-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? N/A

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Pedophilia, Body horror, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Ableism, Torture, and Slavery

laryssa's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

I LOVED the descriptions of the landscapes and the castles (which is weird for me). Some of the characters were also great (Puss). Some of them felt…stale(?). It’s hard to explain. It weirded me out when some of the characters were so young. I get that fairytales are like that but…I don’t know. I wish she would have challenged the original stories more.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault

djpizza's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Death and Confinement

Minor: Colonisation

bingosoap's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Body horror

Minor: Gore and Cannibalism

suzylit's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

3.75

A landmark in the feminine literary tradition. Four decades later those fairytale retellings still ring true.
I was just a little frustrated by some of the stories I would have wanted more of.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Murder, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Sexism, Body horror, Violence, Animal cruelty, Child death, Mental illness, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

andy_sfc_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

I’m conflicted about this book because the writing is beautiful and so descriptive. You can literally see and feel everything that Angela Carter is writing. However, some of the content (even though I’m aware that the purpose of this book is to be discomforting) is so uncomfortable to read like The Snow Child. What was that?

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Child death, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cannibalism, Classism, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault