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jazcarver's review against another edition
I love horror- this wasn’t horror. Just gross and written for shock factor
breannabanda's review against another edition
1.0
This book was terrible. There were several natural endings in which the author could have closed the story. Just when you think Stevens life can’t get an more dysfunctional, the author adds an additional component which the rails the story is trajectory.
promisesatsundown's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-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
3.0
I gave into the hype that is so frequently mentioned in my favorite horror subreddits about this book. I’ve read a decent amount of extreme horror and knew somewhat of what I was getting into.
I found the parts about Steven’s daily life far more interesting than the actual cow part of the story. That part I just could not take seriously and it bordered on comical.
But then I started to think, Steven has been horribly abused his whole life and has had no real exposure to the outside world- what’s to say that anything in the book is truly happening? Maybe he’s just sitting on his bed, the TV on and nothing is real.
It’s gross and shocking for sure, if you can’t stomach gore, bodily waste, beastiality, or animal abuse, skip this one. But if you can realize it’s just a book and try and analyze what the underlying themes are (isolation, mental illness, the need for human affection) it’s not completely devoid of merit. Three starts for what (I think) the author was trying to say and for the prose itself, which was quite good considering the subject matter. All in all, at least I can say I read it.
I found the parts about Steven’s daily life far more interesting than the actual cow part of the story. That part I just could not take seriously and it bordered on comical.
But then I started to think, Steven has been horribly abused his whole life and has had no real exposure to the outside world- what’s to say that anything in the book is truly happening? Maybe he’s just sitting on his bed, the TV on and nothing is real.
It’s gross and shocking for sure, if you can’t stomach gore, bodily waste, beastiality, or animal abuse, skip this one. But if you can realize it’s just a book and try and analyze what the underlying themes are (isolation, mental illness, the need for human affection) it’s not completely devoid of merit. Three starts for what (I think) the author was trying to say and for the prose itself, which was quite good considering the subject matter. All in all, at least I can say I read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, and Excrement
pensnfeathers's review against another edition
2.0
This is the single most unpleasant book I've ever read. It is a sadomasochistic, beastial, incestuous, scatalogical nightmare with prose that is technically skillful but clearly written with the sole purpose of being disgusting. What plot there is is a pretty classic man versus self story, straight out of high school English class, that is at times very nearly profound but never quite gets there.
This book is too well written to be worth one star, but I could not in good conscience recommend it to... anyone, really.
This book is too well written to be worth one star, but I could not in good conscience recommend it to... anyone, really.
alelu_09's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
3.75
jazminiemin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-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
0.5
the only thing that carried this book is that it used accurate descriptors 😭
deep_in_the_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Video of my Top Horror Novels
Cows is your archetypal coming-of-age story about a young man finding his place in the world and gaining independence one step at a time. It just happens to be absolutely revolting, full of gore and filth in the absolute extreme. I thought I was fairly desensitized but this book still managed to make me cringe (the teeth scene is what got me). I love how this book has no solid bottom on how weird it gets. You think it can't possibly take the premise in a weirder direction and then you're proven wrong. As the story evolves, you're constantly guessing where it's gonna go next and re-evaluating the book as a whole. Despite the copious amounts of gore and doodoo in this book, it's not even 'trashy.' The prose is really smart and stylistic, shot through with pitch-black humour and nihilism. Stokoe shows a strong literary knack even amidst the profanity and gross-out. I wouldn't exactly call this a horror novel. It's more of a dark surrealist novel, with many scenes having a dreamlike automatic writing kind of vibe. It's like a mix between Franz Kafka and William S Burroughs.
Cows is an incredibly unique and well-written nightmare. Because of how disgusting it is, many readers will want to STEER clear (lol), but this was one of my most memorable, abrasive reads in a long time, so I'd highly recommend it for that.
Cows is your archetypal coming-of-age story about a young man finding his place in the world and gaining independence one step at a time. It just happens to be absolutely revolting, full of gore and filth in the absolute extreme. I thought I was fairly desensitized but this book still managed to make me cringe (the teeth scene is what got me). I love how this book has no solid bottom on how weird it gets. You think it can't possibly take the premise in a weirder direction and then you're proven wrong. As the story evolves, you're constantly guessing where it's gonna go next and re-evaluating the book as a whole. Despite the copious amounts of gore and doodoo in this book, it's not even 'trashy.' The prose is really smart and stylistic, shot through with pitch-black humour and nihilism. Stokoe shows a strong literary knack even amidst the profanity and gross-out. I wouldn't exactly call this a horror novel. It's more of a dark surrealist novel, with many scenes having a dreamlike automatic writing kind of vibe. It's like a mix between Franz Kafka and William S Burroughs.
Cows is an incredibly unique and well-written nightmare. Because of how disgusting it is, many readers will want to STEER clear (lol), but this was one of my most memorable, abrasive reads in a long time, so I'd highly recommend it for that.
nikkil50's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-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
4.5
chxrrybombom's review against another edition
dark
fast-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
ofc a man wrote this