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waggish_nymph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, and Outing
j_yarbrough's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
venpyre's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
It was like…. if you were to take a metal detector to a polluted swamp. You’d have to drudge through the gunk and bear the claustrophobic humidity at the chance of finding even a bit of treasure. But somehow that makes what you <i>do</i> find all the more valuable? Not that anyone would advise you to go metal detecting in a swamp but I digress.
I feel like this book has aged particularly well in time for our era. In a post-NBC-Hannibal world we can more openly study depictions of love and lust in literature that splinter into death, obsession, and the need to consume/meld into one.
Brite’s ability to conjure these characters, the vilest people you could never dream up in your worst nightmares, is nothing short of astounding. Without comparing the texts too heavily (as I believe they exist for starkly different reasons) Andrew’s inner monologue reminded me somewhat of the eloquent but absolutely atrocious musings of Nabokov’s infamous protagonist, Humbert Humbert. The gleam of poetry and intelligence in the prose is enough to propel you forward despite the horrors you have to endure on page.
I wish the book was comprised mostly of Andrew’s perspective rather than switching between his and a summary of Jay. I did, however, appreciate Tran’s chapters, as it humanized him and made him much more than just an object/victim.
That being said, I’m not sure how to parse the descriptions of Asian men in this novel. While not excusing the racist remarks of the book’s characters, I did have to remind myself it was written in the 90s, and depicts the time period faithfully. The way Tran is described is undoubtedly fetishistic. That may be the point. EC treads a fine line that unfortunately holds it back from landing its otherwise graceful pirouette.
Not sure if I knew EC was splatterpunk before diving in, but I’m glad I waited until I was a little older and more versed in horror before reading it. Trigger warning for about everything imaginable and then some. Your mileage may vary to the extreme. If you feel like you can find beauty in near senseless chaos, and have the stomach for its graphic descriptions, you might enjoy Exquisite Corpse.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, Excrement, Medical content, and Outing
Minor: Eating disorder, Vomit, and Police brutality
remghoul's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Outing
niccolowilliam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Slavery, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, and Outing
emmablue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Incest, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, and Outing
sammysamsam's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Slavery, Excrement, Death of parent, and Colonisation
desertlurker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs, Self harm, and Police brutality
Minor: Incest and Slavery
thesawyerbean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was absolutely repugnant to read, and frankly not enjoyable. The characters all sucked in their own ways, some more than others obviously - the discourse on HIV/AIDS was heinous and the grotesque descriptions of carrion and murder were horrifyingly indulgent. The love affair with abuse that all the characters (even the good ones) seemed to foster was gross as well.
I’m not naïve in expecting this book to be pleasant reading, but it could’ve been done in such a better way. This was just literal torture porn. In addition one of the fundamental plot points is just… unbelievable? Andrew somehow managing to basically die without actually dying, getting the better of actual medical professionals and then coming back to consciousness at the exact right time? Sure. Made the whole book even more ridiculous.
I wouldn’t recommend this even if it was good, but it wasn’t. So what’s the point?
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bahyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail