Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Paradise Rot

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval

26 reviews

ameliahillhylton's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No

3.25

highly bizarre, yet captivating.

Content Warnings

meremeth's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

I'm not sure about this one. I liked the premise but it didn't pay off super well for me. I was hoping it would have some Julia Armfield vibes, and it did on some level. But ultimately fell short for me. Kinda just because I didn't feel like it was saying anything in particular. Maybe my fault for looking for deeper meaning into something that was just pure vibes.

I also thought this book was going to be hot. it's not hot. It's just kinda.. sexually uncomfortable.

Super funny to me how much England is painted as such a horrible place (not that I disagree lmao)
I'm sure everywhere seems horrible to a Norwegian lol.

Content Warnings

tayaingrid's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

Content Warnings

pheebabeeba_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

The book follows the protagonist, Djåoanna, AKA Jo, a Norwegian transfer student starting her first year in University to study Biology. In need of housing, she meets a young woman named Carral, who offers her lodging in an apartment, refurnished from an old brewery. Jo quickly notices the apartment seems alive and breathing. Jo also starts to develop an obsession for her new roommate, Carral.

This book is definitely a silent horror, left much to the description of Jo’s thoughts. That element makes Jo, the protagonist rather sinister herself. These thoughts tend to often be her own fascinations and perversions. Her thoughts feel almost intrusive in nature.

The horror is the kind that builds up slowly, from brief descriptions to a far deeper experience (the horror was a bit too slow to my liking). I found this book very descriptive and imaginative. I enjoyed a lot of the visuals the book gave, especially at the start of the book. It’s what drew me to continue further.

The ending was perhaps a bit anticlimactic but I would say overall this was an interesting read.

(Here is a fair warning to anyone who considers reading this book: There’s quite a lot of descriptions of piss. Urine is a frequent source of interest in this novel. If you don’t care for all of that, I cannot recommend this. Fortunately, I wasn’t too bothered by it.)

Content Warnings