Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Tampa

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Tampa by Alissa Nutting

53 reviews

bries_librarybooks's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book nails the goal of being creepy, skin crawling, and real. I hated EVERY SINGLE SECOND of reading this book, and I ended up having to take MULTIPLE DAYS between certain parts because the contents are just that visceral. It was truly terrifying to see how REAL everything was, how REAL the ending was, and how manipulative and EASY it was for the FMC to do what she does.

CHECK. YOUR. TRIGGER WARNINGS!!!!

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readwithleigh's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

easily one of the most disturbing, absolutely disgusting books i've ever read. i was shocked by how brazenly honest it was. it truly felt like i was in the mind of a pedophile and like any normal person, i hated it, and yet i kept reading because Nutting is such a compelling writer. i'll definitely be feeling very weird for days to come after this one, yeesh.

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gnight's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

2.0

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enbylievable's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-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

2.5

Was really glad when it was over. Very well written and captivating but really challenged my dedication to the idea that "all art has value." This book approaches pornographic levels with its explicit sexual nature and the fact that the sex involves minors forces me to consider why this story needed to be told or what audience this story was intended for. I had hopes and wishes for the resolution at the end that went unfulfilled.

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mirandahopeshea's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

WTF did I just read? I laughed out loud several times, marvelled at the brilliant writing, had an actual nightmare halfway through the book, felt physically ill, and thusly will be giving it five stars. Tampa makes you want to rip your hair out and actually FEEL disgust, not at the storytelling (like so many books I have read), but at the story itself. The difference between Tampa, and other books in the same vein about abuse (Colleen Hoover…*cough cough*), is that something like this is is that it’s not glamorising anything. Tampa is satirical and critical in the same go. It doesn’t pretend that the subject matter is aspirational, okay, or in any way good. It is pure horror, and is labeled as such.
Some art is supposed to be difficult and nauseating. It makes us think about the darkness in the world in a deeply meaningful way. You don’t have to read this book. In fact, I don’t think many people will be equipped to, and should not, but that doesn’t mean this book is “bad” or shouldn’t exist.
I read somewhere once that “The sterilisation of reality is a detriment to all who exist within it.” Fiction helps us practice empathy and helps us face the scary, big-bad real world. Art shouldn’t be sanitised because it makes you uncomfortable.

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atepper's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

Content Warnings

libroandthings's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-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

4.25

I found a tiktok video with this book as her main topic for the content, she very much explained what it is about—and it automatically hooked me. I bought it from a preloved shop, and found it very cheap (it was only 150php), so it made me feel drawn into reading it immediately.

I automatically felt disgust and hesitation by the first chapter of the book, because of how vulgar, how vague, how well described and detailed everything is. It truly is not for the weak hearted because of how sexual the main character's thoughts are, and it is so disturbing because of her 'preferences'.

Like the other reviews, it's like Lolita but in a much much modern setting, with the genders swapped. I love how the author did not hold back on describing details from the real case (yes, it is based on a real event and real people). This book proves how messed up a person's sexual desires can be, and how far they can go just to fulfill that sickening spark inside of them. And also, the pretty privilege the MC had is so... Disgusting. The internalized misogyny, the slight mention of how privileged she is because of her social background that people wanted to believe otherwise first regarding her case.

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