magpie_666's review
2.0
I'm not adverse to books like this at all, but they need a story to keep the reader engaged. Just being constantly grim makes the reader desensitised too quickly and the book becomes boring quickly.
I'm sure this was two separate stories at one point. The Bighead story and the abbey story.
It was hilarious at the end though and really made me laugh. Absolute nonsense.
It reminded me of a Leicester saying "It was like chucking a sausage up Charles Street."
I think I have another Lee book on my TBR so I'll have to give it a try.
I'd only really recommend this to people who are looking for a gross out that don't want a story. But most people who like these books will be bored by the constant herang of grossness quite quickly
I'm sure this was two separate stories at one point. The Bighead story and the abbey story.
It was hilarious at the end though and really made me laugh. Absolute nonsense.
It reminded me of a Leicester saying "It was like chucking a sausage up Charles Street."
I think I have another Lee book on my TBR so I'll have to give it a try.
I'd only really recommend this to people who are looking for a gross out that don't want a story. But most people who like these books will be bored by the constant herang of grossness quite quickly
gls_merch's review
3.5
Just pages into reading The Bighead, Edward Lee punches you in the face with unspeakable acts of sex and violence. For many, that will be enough excuse to never open the pages again. For those who press onwards, you will encounter a novel in the gothic horror tradition. The female heroines arrives in a remote location complete with an abandoned abbey (covered up by the Catholic church) and a local legend about a man-child monster with a watermelon-sized noggin. Punctuated with numerous scenes of the grotesque, the multiple storylines culminate in a manic supernatural conclusion. By the end, I had chuckle as I came to the realization that Mr. Lee clearly had his tongue firmly planted in cheek the whole time.
shawn_of_the_read's review
dark
mysterious
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
briarrabbit4293's review
dark
funny
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Murder, Incest, Gore, Excrement, Drug use, Death, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Body horror, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Torture, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape
kelli312's review
3.0
I wanted to see what the splatterpunk genre was all about and, uh, now I know. The depravity of this book frequently made me want to abandon it altogether, but the oddly compelling (and certainly well-written) story made me stick with it, essentially peeking through my fingers to see what could possibly happen next (the answer was always absurdly extreme gore and/or sex). Also this book was set not far from where I live, so that was pretty surreal.
stephanieluxton's review
2.0
I tried to read this book a few times, but failed as my stomach wasn't strong enough, and i think i have a pretty damn strong stomach for a 17 year old girl :) Well i sucked it up and finally read it. Imagine the worst possible things that a human can do to another human. Ten bucks says it happens i this novel. It was pretty gnarly but the story was interesting. I really liked Father Alexander and Goop Gooder. The Bighead himself was...interesting. Also i found aunt Annie and charity to be likeable. I really liked Jerrica at first, but my oppinion changed a bit. I HATED Dicky and Balls. I felt like they werent important at all except to gross me out. This was overall an interesting and suspenseful story, but it wasn't my favorite of Edward Lee's novels. If you havent read any of his books before. Do NOT start with this one.
buzzard's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
0.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Incest, Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Cannibalism, Child death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Drug use, Infidelity, and Racism
vanessaliest's review
3.0
Bevor ich irgendetwas zu dem Buch sage muss ich ganz ehrlich mal noch eine kleine Warnung aussprechen: Dieses Buch ist nichts für zart besaitete Seelchen, oder Menschen mit schwachem Magen. Lest dieses Buch nicht auf leeren Bauch und setzt euch in der Sbahn nicht neben Omis wenn ihr dieses Buch lesen wollt (die lesen mit und wollen dann wissen was mit euch nicht stimmt. Mir original so passiert >.
Dieses Buch ist verstörend, ekelerregend und ganz ehrlich, über meine Komfortzone hinaus widerlich. Dieses Buch bricht jedes Tabu: Gewalt, Sex, Vergewaltigungen, jegliche Art von Körperflüsigkeiten (und ich meine wirklich - jede), Kannibalismus, Obszönitäten, Grausamkeiten - alles. Dieses Buch macht vor nichts und niemandem Halt - nicht vor Babies, der Kirche, netten alten Ladies - vor absolut gar nichts. Mir ist besonders zu Anfang des Buches echt richtig schlecht geworden, alles wird sehr wortreich und detailliert beschrieben.
Trotzdem, und das sage ich fast widerwillig, trotzdem übt Bighead eine gewisse Faszination aus. Wenn man sich mal durch den Ekel und die Skepsis hindurchliest, ist es ein wahnsinnig gut geschriebenes Buch. Gut schreiben kann der Herr Lee. Ohne Frage. Bighead ist aus verschiedenen Sichtweisen geschrieben und jede Sichtweise ist stilistisch anders und dem Charakter aus dessen Sicht berichtet wird angepasst. Das ist wahnsinnig schlau gemacht und hat das Buch immer interessant gehalten.
Insgesamt ein für die entsprechende Zielgruppe wahnsinnig gutes Buch, trotzdem war das vermutlich doch das letzte Buch, dass ich von dem Autor gelesen habe. Ich bin wohl eine von den zart besaiteten Mädchen ^^
Dieses Buch ist verstörend, ekelerregend und ganz ehrlich, über meine Komfortzone hinaus widerlich. Dieses Buch bricht jedes Tabu: Gewalt, Sex, Vergewaltigungen, jegliche Art von Körperflüsigkeiten (und ich meine wirklich - jede), Kannibalismus, Obszönitäten, Grausamkeiten - alles. Dieses Buch macht vor nichts und niemandem Halt - nicht vor Babies, der Kirche, netten alten Ladies - vor absolut gar nichts. Mir ist besonders zu Anfang des Buches echt richtig schlecht geworden, alles wird sehr wortreich und detailliert beschrieben.
Trotzdem, und das sage ich fast widerwillig, trotzdem übt Bighead eine gewisse Faszination aus. Wenn man sich mal durch den Ekel und die Skepsis hindurchliest, ist es ein wahnsinnig gut geschriebenes Buch. Gut schreiben kann der Herr Lee. Ohne Frage. Bighead ist aus verschiedenen Sichtweisen geschrieben und jede Sichtweise ist stilistisch anders und dem Charakter aus dessen Sicht berichtet wird angepasst. Das ist wahnsinnig schlau gemacht und hat das Buch immer interessant gehalten.
Insgesamt ein für die entsprechende Zielgruppe wahnsinnig gutes Buch, trotzdem war das vermutlich doch das letzte Buch, dass ich von dem Autor gelesen habe. Ich bin wohl eine von den zart besaiteten Mädchen ^^
positivelyhorror's review
2.0
It's too overtly ridiculous to be taken seriously, so the disgusting content is just silly excess rather than harrowing, horrific and intense. Also the way the author writes women is terrible. Parts of the overall story were quite enjoyable, but not enough to make me want to read more from Lee.