Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh

4 reviews

bj66rk's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

"you're the devil, he tells me, quite amicably.

i love you, i tell him in return."

— GODDD I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!!! this book is insane. ohhh this reminds me sososo much of the film the piano teacher, how being starved from love and intimacy can bring you to acting in depraved ways like a famished animal. how the main character allows herself to be taken advantage of simply because she wants someone to take notice of her and desire her. its gut wrenching and the language of this book describes those thoughts PERFECTLY!! i couldnt put this down and i wouldve finished it in one sitting if i could

definitely on the stranger and darker side, i wouldnt recommend this to everyone but if you enjoy media like the piano teacher you will eat this up (lol)
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celticthistle's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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carojust's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-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

3.0

The title alone had me interested in this book. It's right up my alley in terms of deranged female narrators taking us through an unsettling ride. 

The story shifts between Elodie's POV as a baker's wife, and her letters to her friend Violet. It starts plain and quite boring, unravels very slowly, and then drops the plot twist over a few pages in a nightmarish daze. 

The main theme is obsession, the need to live as someone else, and steal their life, their love, their intimacies. It's a heavy focus on masochistic, degrading fantasy, born from boredom, neglect, and Elodie's invisibility as a woman and sexual being. 

The writing is one long fever dream that gets more twisted and confusing as you go. It was hard for me to find footing, which is probably purposeful. Even the time period was hard for me to figure out. This kind of verbose, vague inner monologue writing style often loses me, but give it a try if you're into that, as well as really demented characters.
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bronzeageholly's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

3.0

There were incredibly sculpted moments in this book, but the majority of the pacing was not for me. Despite the short length, I found it difficult to keep going and often had to convince myself to come back to it with the thought that there might be another brilliantly written section coming up. I saw it described as a “fever” and I think that fits it perfectly - the highs and lows of temperature. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes beautifully crafted characters who it’s hard to wholly like or hate. 

The main character experiences a lot of obsessive thoughts around sex, bodies, eating, and violence, and I would not recommend this book to anyone who might find this triggering.
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