Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval

13 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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

BODILY FLUIDS

medini_l's review

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, Blood, and Excrement

Moderate: Toxic friendship

tabithaecw's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

Minor: Vomit

f18's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

biobeetle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Excrement, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Homophobia and Misogyny

freckled_frog_boi's review against another edition

4.0

What a disgusting, filthy little book. I want a hard copy.
urine count: 9

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

veelaughtland's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content and Toxic friendship

tinyjude's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

A very lyrical, weird, gross and avant-garde book. I am still processing what I just read and  trying to understand what happened. Either way, it was an experience. Trippy mushrooms, creepy settings and some homosexual activity (I love this combination). The writing style is very good, although some of the most grotesque imagery conjured by the writer will surely haunt me for a while (apples no longer look the same)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

fraise's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, Blood, and Toxic friendship

florecita_lectora's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Dark. Psychedelic. Moist. And so much pee. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Excrement

Moderate: Toxic friendship