Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

4 reviews

septi's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Pandemic/Epidemic

parchementhallucinations's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful tense 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

3.5

How I saw it described: "Man would rather be literally swallowed by a whale than go to therapy”. 

It was enjoyable for the most part, but I don’t think it was my cup of tea. I can see this really working for others; the writing was great, the descriptions vivid and visceral, the science was fascinating, and it had family drama to boot. 

Whalefall is a “scientifically accurate thriller” about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by a sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. it’s claustrophobic and horrific. But in large part it’s about the relationship between a father/son, intolerable grief, forgiveness and survival. 

For me: it sucked to listen to all of the abuse that was directed specifically at Jay from his father Mitt. It was textbook narcissistic behavior of singling someone out, and the rest of his community though Mitt was the greatest. While important for both the narrative/themes and people to read about… it’s usually something I avoid because it can be triggering. 

I really dislike when stories take somewhat abusive/toxic people and try to redeem them in death. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Vomit

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

parkergarlough's review

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Transphobia

Minor: Bullying