Reviews tagging 'Violence'

And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott

11 reviews

enbyunicorn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Violence

charleshasalibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Grief

plasticpansy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Colonisation

kristenbynoe's review

dark emotional tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug use, Genocide, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Colonisation

_inge's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.5 stars 

This book had me hooked from the start. Alice felt incredibly real, and I had no issue envisioning her life from the first pages. I love especially how her husband is seen to try his hardest but doesn’t quite get ‘it’, which made their communication issues understandable - even though this is usually something that can really put me off in a novel. The way Alice’s mental health develops felt very real too, I’m not surprised the author consulted women with similar experiences on this as it did come across as natural. Initially she’s quite funny and seems a bit conflicted, but gradually she spirals further and further. Some segments reminded me of Mona Awad’s writing. I love magical realism, horror, and unreliable narrators, so this was perfect for me. 

The only downside to me is that the last quarter didn’t feel very necessary. The story seems to wrap up at one point, and I didn’t really need more of the plot to feel satisfied with the ending. I wouldn’t have minded an ambiguous ending, given the story as a whole could be interpreted in different ways as well. It would’ve been clear enough to feel like a fitting end. Instead, the last quarter increases the magical elements and wants to highlight generational trauma more. I actually felt less satisfied with this additional context than I would’ve felt if the book ended about 50 pages earlier. 

If you’re into some of the topics I’ve mentioned here, you’re surely going to enjoy reading this book. I’d like to read more from Native authors after reading this as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, and Self harm

fiaharringbook's review against another edition

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

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

5.0

This book was a life-changer for me. It was like Get Out but make it Indigenous Canadian, meets Everything Everywhere All at Once or Interstellar. The scope of imagination, creativity and originality in the way this story was told was gob-smacking. My favourite book of the year so far, absolutely bloody exquisite, I cannot recommend enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

siobhanward's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Apparently I added this to my TBR and then completely forgot about it because I had no idea what to expect when I picked it up. I loved how uncertain things felt - Elliott created a great atmosphere that kept me guessing right until the end. While the post-partum horror genre is surprisingly popular, (think Rosemary's Baby), Elliott managed to create a narrative that felt new and unique. My only real critique of the book is that the end felt rushed, and I'm still not sure whether or not that was intentional. Regardless, this was a solid read that I read in a sitting and I'm excited to read more from Elliott. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

mmccombs's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

That ending!! I was not so sure of this book at the beginning, I almost dnf’d like 35% of the way through, but I am so glad I kept going. The pace was a bit slow, but ultimately that made the way the ending unfurled so rewarding. Such beautiful themes at play here, highlighting the interconnectedness of Native women and their stories and their generations of striving toward hope. It definitely got kind of bonkers there at the end, which made for some delicious horror moments and also very poignant pieces about postpartum depression and psychosis and how that experience intersects with (and is further compounded and criminalized by) colonization and racism. This is such a well constructed book, would definitely recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Mental illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Colonisation

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

2.5

This follow-up to Alicia Elliott's memoir A Mind Spread Out on the Ground covers a lot of the same topics as her debut, but confronts those realities in challenging and surprising ways. 

I struggled with how slow the first half was. It was slowly building to something, but I was impatient to get into the horrific and the shocking. It deals with some heavy topics like post-partum mental health, Indigenous motherhood being intensely scrutinized, MMIWG2S, and academia's fascination and appropriation of Indigenous knowledge and stories.

The second half really takes off and I was both *here for it* and also very confused. It is full of twists and turns and definitely held my attention as its pacing sped up. Those topics that were introduced in the first half fall to the wayside a bit in exchange for gory body horror.

The book jumps from domestic fiction with a graphic, horror twist to a confusing sci-fi conclusion. I wish it had kept its horror genre throughout and maintained its clear message because I felt the last 10% fizzled out. I'm not quite sure where it leaves the protagonist and her family.

I can feel the influence of Cherie Dimaline in And Then She Fell's dark, urban fantasy vibes and fans of her work will want to check this out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, and Sexual harassment

paperbackportals's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

And Then She Fell is part psychological thriller, part sci-fi, and part scathing critique of colonialism. It’s got all the spooky vibes and deals with difficult and serious topics such as postpartum psychosis, mental health, the importance of community, racism, and generational trauma. 

This might sound like a lot, but Alicia Elliott has delved into these topics with slight of hand that takes the reader on a mind-bending adventure that intrigues and frightens while also educating you. 

I’m so captivated by her twisting and circular narrative and know that I will need to revisit this book again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit