Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Docile

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Docile by K. M. Szpara

12 reviews

ceplunk's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-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

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maithewriter's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

First of all, let me just say that the marketing of this book totally sucks. I picked it up because I thought it would be a seething commentary on capitalism, but I think the book only scratched the surface of that discourse.

Still, it was an engaging and gripping read, though I'll admit not the type of book I would read if I weren't duped by its marketing, lol. There's a lot of uncomfortable slavefic stuff, and it's hard to empathize with the two main characters at first because they fit right into the slavefic tropes: trillionaire guy meets naive and poor but cute guy and lots of BDSM stuff. I seriously thought of not finishing the book because of the graphic descriptions of sexual assault and even rape in the first-person POV (and it felt like it won't veer away from those), but I'm glad I slugged it out because the latter part of the book was no longer about sex. It explored consent, trauma, and healing -- the last part of which was my favorite because Elisha's healing process was extremely visceral and raw. It made me think about my own boundaries and made me re-assess how I view love and dependency.

Honestly, there's a lot to unpack in this book (capitalism, rich vs. poor, slavery), but the sole focus on two characters and the use of their POVs limit one's capacity to explore the depths of each ideology touched on here. Aside from Elisha and Alex, the other characters didn't feel all that compelling. It also didn't help that it felt like a half-assed worldbuilding -- the setting was a very near dystopian future that trod the line of possible reality but also required a lot of suspension of disbelief. One of my main questions was, how could people just accept this kind of debt resolution system? It seemed so far-fetched, but we were supposed to just gobble it up without any explanation of how the world came to be that way. Even the supposedly leftist group was treated so antagonistically that it felt like we were supposed to side with the wealthy people (and Alex's character arc further proved that).

Spoiler

As for the ending, there was no other way to describe it but romantic and fairy tale-like. Alex and Elisha kind of work things out, which the romantic and escapist in me liked (love conquers all!), but I understand would feel really fucked up for sexual assault victims. It was an acceptable ending for me though, given their character arcs of how Elisha healed and Alex changed for the better. It also felt full circle, because it was ultimately Elisha's choice to be with Alex -- and this is a book that weighs heavily on consent and choice, right? I was happy about it, but I don't condone it in real life because it honestly felt unrealistic.

I'm giving this a high rating because I thoroughly enjoyed the story and made me think deeply about certain concepts. But please take my review with a grain of salt -- this is coming from someone who's never had to suffer the trauma and indignity that this book explored. This is definitely not everyone's cup of tea -- it's got a lot of trigger warnings so please beware before picking up this book.

Content Warnings

sorbeth's review

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dark slow-paced

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

2.0

Content Warnings

lamegod's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.25

Content Warnings

instalovewithbooks's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I have had to take some time to digest this book as writing a review, or something related to it right after I read it? Wasn't going to happen. This book reminds me of the powerful emotions and dumbstruck I had while reading She Who Became the Sun earlier this year. (The books aren't related at all it's more of all the emotions.)
Alex and Elisha are both fucked up. I was rooting for Elisha for the first half or so, until I saw him changing and then become who he was by the end. With Alex, I was glad we had a POV for him, but my GOD did I hate him. Even when things were starting to come together and be got out of his rich ass ideals, I still hated him. This entire book is 1000x fucked up, but yet I couldn't stop reading it. Couldn't stop thinking about it. Needed to finish this story but at the same time didn't want too.
Honestly, I am glad I read this. I would advise to look at the TW's from this author, because they are LOTS and it's not a easy read. Honestly, how it was promoted and how people talked about it? It isn't what they were saying, but you need to read it to understand.

Content Warnings