Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

9 reviews

jrsullivan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide

ciarafor's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

I’m taking away a star for the sheer amount of racism and sexism in this book - every single female character is objectified so extremely this book can be difficult to read as a woman sometimes.

Taking away another star for the number of times I grew exasperatedly bored with long passages about the individual hallway patterns and structures of buildings and longest backstories that sometimes were crucial and other times entirely useless. And for the way this book made me want to crawl out of my skin way more than once.

But I can’t justify taking away any other stars, because outside of those two (pretty significant) things, this book was one of the most intelligent, intriguing, and powerful books I’ve read. I will not subscribe to the Myth of Male Genius or allow DFW to be venerated as faultless, but this work really is something you kind of have to put a capital G on the Genius for. The entire book, DFW tells you exactly what he’s doing and going to do, and when he does it, it’s still somehow earth shattering. It’s bold, it’s boundary-breaking, and it has left me reeling on more than one occasion. I personally believe the point of literature is to make you feel things, experience things you haven’t had the occasion to touch or think on, to live through someone else’s creation. At its core, Infinite Jest will make you feel, and think, and live through all kinds of stuff you didn’t want to, and may be better off or far worse off for. Read at your own risk - but if you want to experience something unlike anything else you have thus far, and you can stomach what comes with it, Infinite Jest might just be worth picking up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

lizburny's review against another edition

challenging dark funny slow-paced

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

4.0

It is a book that pulls you in and pushes you away. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

asililydying's review

unfortunately dated - perhaps worth finishing another time. for now I have more than had my fill.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Murder, and Sexual harassment

julziez's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

drewbutler's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

There’s so much to say about this book. It’s a behemoth and pushes the boundaries of what a novel can do and how much ground it can cover. It’s not without its flaws whatsoever, but I really loved it in spite of its shortcomings. This is a very sad, very funny, very sincere book, and I think it’s worth reading, if for no other reason than that you can feel the honesty with which everyone is written. DFW doesn’t always succeed with each facet of each character, but when he does, you feel like someone is telling you plainly something you’ve always felt, but never had the ability to describe. There are so many themes woven into the myriad plots and subplots and endnotes and footnotes in this massive book, but they all connect and paint a messy picture of life. There is a lot of satire and tongue-in-cheek settings here, but they’re all supported by a genuineness that’s hard to find, especially nowadays in a world where most media reflects the current cynicism so pervasive in our modern American culture. DFW has some incredibly astute observations on entertainment, meaning, and things like personal and national identity, all of which have been validated by the actual course of events and culture since this book was written. Above all, though, he’s not mean about it, and the criticisms levied at some of our worst instincts as a people still feel like they come from a kind place that wants things to change, and wishes that they could. This is definitely a book that you can read over and over again, and I look forward to picking it back up sometime in the future. It’s a lot, and has such a reputation behind it, but I really believe it’s worth reading, and it’s worth getting to know these funny, broken characters that we’re lucky enough to meet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Rape, and Suicide

rue_knee's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

viksquires's review

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

adriennne's review against another edition

dark funny slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Body shaming and Transphobia

Minor: Homophobia and Incest