Reviews with content warning for Lesbophobia - Paradise Rot

Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval

12 reviews

librarymouse's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

Similar to her later book Girls Against God, Jenny Hval's Paradise Rot queers the human body through its association with decay, excrement, and bodily fluids. The whole book reads as a fever dream and ends with Jo having moved out, struggling to remember the details of Carral, rotting and sick from their shared apartment. Time moves slowly in the narrative, but the passing of time is denoted by the rotting of the apples that their relationship was predicated on. The thread of Carral's com-het, and the consistent creepiness of their writer neighbor managed to sustain the majority of the dread in the novel, whereas the anachronistic mushrooms and the motif of rot served as an addition of surrealism. Aspects of the novel are frustratingly relatable as a renter with landlords who don't take care of mold problems. As a librarian, Carral's desecration and theft of a library book are more frustrating than markers of the illicit.

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

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

joensign's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

getglitchd's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious reflective tense 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

Profoundly unsettling. Not as gross as some people make it out to be, but not something to read at lunch.

Content Warnings

pixie_dust's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

This book felt like a surreal rollercoaster ride with a hint of pee and rotten apples. It's not my cup of tea per say, but I kept reading because I felt curious of what's gonna happen next. Needless to say, this book is hard to recommend to other people.

Content Warnings

i_read_books_sometimes's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

As close as a book can be to perfect!

- Breathtaking, lurid prose unlike anything I've ever read before
- Really interesting (and less problematic) portrayal of literary madness
- Balances disgust and awe -- horrible scenes are described in an absolutely beautiful way
- Manages to have ambiguity without being frustrating
- Tolerable levels of piss

Content Warnings