Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Invisible monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

13 reviews

perth_is's review against another edition

dark tense 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? Yes

4.75

ily brandy alexander 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

jolearra's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Read this book in Highschool and had to try it again. There is no way I could have grasped anything in this book at that time but as an adult… it 100% blew me away. I love this book. The story is amazing and filled with twist after twist. My jaw was dropped midway and to the end. I’ve always liked Chuck Palanhniuk’s writing. This is the second time reading this and I’ve read his other books, specifically fight club and haunt, multiple times. Just get it. Read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

emequalsme's review against another edition

dark funny 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

3.0

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book until well into the first half. The characters are abhorrent and so completely unlikable, it was hard to get into. However, I found myself engaged in the second half and didn’t have trouble finishing it. By far not the author’s best work (I read Pygmy before this, which I really enjoyed), but still somewhat entertaining, and it’s such a fast read that if you’re not that into it, it will be over soon enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Gun violence

shawn_martines's review against another edition

dark funny sad 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? Yes

2.75

This book is ahead of its time, but not for everyone: a story of self discovery written with LGBTQIA+ characters but full of Gay Wrongs instead of gay rights. This story is written in a way that the message could be championed by the wrong people and I could not get that out of my head. I appreciate the humour and the fast paced adventure, but this book quickly jumps into a statement that is drawn out long enough to fumble a safe landing. I left the story thinking, "what did I just read?" but not in an awestruck way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

rachellosacco's review against another edition

challenging funny mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

What a great and crazy dive into ideas of beauty and hyper-femininity. There are plenty of twists, some you might be able to guess, others that are truly shocking. Consumerism and spectacle are criticized throughout, and the line begins to blur between hate and love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Outing, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Deadnaming, and Car accident

Minor: Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

milsforreals's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Transphobia, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Outing

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Dysphoria

grunbean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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

3.25

Whenever I read a book by Chuck Palahniuk I can only describe my reaction with that one clip of Brian David Gilbert going ‘What the f***’?!’. For me this picked up over half way, but it’s not a bad read. Definitely interesting with plenty of surprises, which is what you’d expect! It just didn’t have its hook in me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

jeremie's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.75

this and “fight club” should be talked about in the same breath

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Eating disorder and Incest

abbruzzese's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known.

When did the future switch from being a promise to being a threat?

i think i'm done with chuck palahniuk for a long, long time. wish i had read fight club before anything else of his because i'm so sick of reading his writing. it's so repetitive, it's exhausting. and it's all so miserable. satire or not, edgy or not, there's only so much fucking depressive shit a girl can handle and i am maxed out. if you really want to read one of his books, just go with choke and call it a day. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Blood

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

updownwrong's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Invisible Monsters is the best Chuck Palahniuk novel I've read yet. It's full of twists and turns, awful yet loveable yet loathsome characters, and outlandish yet almost plausible situations that make your jaw drop. While I don't think the book is as shocking as it would have been 20 years ago, I think it's an essential read for anyone who enjoys modern satire. Bonus points if you're a former emo kid who underlined all of the lines AFYCSO references. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Kidnapping, and Outing