Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

23 reviews

marena02's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

abookplaylist's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

" La grande avventura della nostra vita. Che cosa significa morire quando si può vivere fino alla fine del mondo? Che cos'è la fine del mondo se non  un modo di dire, che chissà anche soltanto cos'è il mondo stesso? Mai ho già vissuto due secoli e ho visto le illusioni dell'uno completamente distrutte dall'altro, sono stato eternamente giovane ed eternamente vecchio, senza possedere illusioni, facendo Ottimo per attimo come un orologio d'argento che batte nel vuoto; quadrante, lancette delicatamente intagliate, nessuno guarda, e che non guardano nessuno, illuminate da una luce che non era luce, come la luce alla quale Dio crea il mondo prima di aver creato la luce. Tic tac, tic tac, tic tac, la precisione dell'orologio, in una stanza vasta come l'universo "

Anne Rice ha uno stile sublime ma ha un grosso difetto: la sua narrazione è molto lenta.
Penso che ad una certa ho talmente sentito pesante Louis come personaggio da aver pensato che forse era meglio Lestat.
Dopo la lettura di questo volume mi è venuta un'insana voglia di farmi un veloce rewatch del film e iniziare la serie TV uscita qualche anno fa.
È stata una lettura sofferta che continuerò in tutta calma, anche perché sono davvero curiosa come continuano le vicende.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

pkcaramel's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual assault

kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Anne Rice is the queen of vampire novels 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

smaber23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

5.0

I love New Orleans, I love vampires, so of course reading this felt like destiny.

Rice is a powerful author whose eloquent prose and captivating imagery will leave you breathless. To say this novel is a tragedy is an understatement and it is clear she wrote it from a place of profound grief. 

Like her predecessor Mary Shelley, Anne Rice was inspired to write a novel about life, death, and immortality following the loss of her child. She inserts her late daughter into the novel as Claudia, an immortal child who fully develops mentally but is eternally cursed with an adolescent body. She is raised by her two gay dads (jokes) Louis and Lestat, the former a depressed and tortured soul serving as our narrator, the latter a flamboyant hedonist who wants nothing more than to suck the marrow from life (or undead-ness) itself.

I don't recommend this novel for everyone as it can be supremely triggering for survivors of CSA. It is abundantly clear Rice desperately tried to keep her daughter alive into adulthood through Claudia, who continues to evolve sexually and emotionally beneath arrested physical development. Grief can create amazing art and, in spite of these harrowing depictions, this is no exception.

If you feel called to read this, I implore you to do so. You will walk away with a different impression of life, death, and beauty.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Racism and Slavery

Minor: Alcohol

semisinful's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow. Truly one of the best vampire stories. No adaptation has in any way captured the feeling this book gave off. It’s truly remarkable. I can’t imagine a better first vampire novel. I’ve seen plenty movies, shows and games of vampire stories but this is my first ever vampire novel and it was remarkable. 

The way Anne Rice has such a command of her prose is truly awe inspiring and the level at which relationships and the drama therein is what drives the plot is absolutely what I desire to do with my writing and I now see it can be done successfully for this style of story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Alcohol

alisasreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

i'm reading this as a result of my obsession with the tv show and needing to consume everything that is attached to it. so ofcourse i had to read this book and it really did not disappoint. anne's prose is truly something else this book did not have one dull moment for me, i read it as if it was already a series and i'm so grateful that we got one. this book makes me understand why the tv show is as good as it is, it can take the dark and gritty stuff from the book and give it even more weight and power. i never expected it to almost be a 5 star read for me but it surprised me in so many ways. i feel lucky i get to experience it through the eyes of the tv series though because it gives me more attachment to a character like louis, who is so different in the book and with seeing the show first is easier to root for and understand. i am so excited to read "the vampire lestat" to see his perspective and his story since he has become one of my favourite characters after watching the show. at the end of the day it was a really good and true experience reading this.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting

hannahbananars's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Read the book because I love the show so much! It was fun to see where they got their inspiration from and the verbatim words they kept in. Overall, it’s a great book! I didn’t find it as slow and taxing as others described it but maybe that’s because I already love these characters. Louis’ catholic guilt is insane and at times so paralyzing. It’s exhausting to watch but his humanity despite his hunger and his senses are what make him such a compelling character. He doesn’t really paint Lestat in a great light at first, but his love for him is evident with the guilt of his murder. Claudia is such a tragic character, I found her the most macabre of all people. The way Louis describes her stillness as if she were just a doll is so eerie. I also noticed that Louis and Armand’s relationship really could have been something beautiful if not for their separate issues…..and that makes me sad. 

In conclusion, great book but I would recommend the television series more. They really take the essence of the book and make it better in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

gh0st_f1sh's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book hits a lot more differently now than when I read it seventeen years ago. Just because I can see the cracks does not mean that the spell has been broken. It lives in my heart, forever and always.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Drug use, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Claudia as a five year old adds a disturbing layer to her scenes involving intimacy and violence, there is biting galore, property damage is imminent, and the complexity of destructive relationships (both with ourselves and others) is at the heart of the novel.