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Reviews tagging 'Animal death'
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca
669 reviews
perth_is's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Fyi, I read this book in an hour ðŸ˜
Graphic: Body horror, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Medical content, Animal death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Homophobia
Moderate: Pregnancy
kit_reads's review against another edition
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence
camilamunoz's review against another edition
2.25
This plot reminded me of 2 true life crime stories; specifically the detail about the contract and the chat room setting. Considering the whole novella was fabricated as a summary of real events -what with the omissions and police mention- i just had to look up whether it was based on real life before thinking: why would anyone actually follow through w dangerous/off putting suggestions from a stranger? like why not just say you did and grab your coin? besides the dress situation, no other photo proof was required so it was strange that Agnes actually went through with everything.
In any case, what regular person sends emails/messages with such explicit detail?
Anyway, definitely a wtf book
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Animal death, and Toxic relationship
muppetincrisis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Torture, Animal death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Lesbophobia
hayn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Vomit, Sexual content, Medical content, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Pregnancy
05olivia15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Yes, I gave it 4 stars. But I do not recommend anyone read this book ever.
This book made me physically nauseous to read. I read this whole book in a day because I knew if I set it down and allowed myself to think about picking it up again, I wouldn't have the stomach to do it.
An absolutely fucked early 2000s era epistolary novel, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke chronicles the emails and instant message logs between Zoe and Agnes who meet on a craigslist-esque LGBT forum. Agnes is estranged from her family, underemployed, and financially screwed. Zoe is mysterious, wealthy, and has a penchant for cruelty. What follows is a train wreck that I wished I could look away from the entire time.
The horror of this book comes from 2 fronts: The first and most obvious is the body horror that basically shows up from the very beginning of the book. I'm not going to quote anything or go into detail, but trust me, it's foul.
The second comes from the eery-sick feeling that this could have happened to the friends I knew as teenagers. That this cautionary tale was narrowly avoided through luck rather than skill. Being an emotional vulnerable queer with an unmonitored internet connection is billed as something empowering, a way to find community outside of your shitty hometown, to give you hope for a future that you can see happening in a city near you. But it can also lead you to places like this. Lonely corners of the internet where people with no power in their real lives decide to create some by dominating someone even weaker, someone hundreds of miles away. The real fear of this novel came from the lingering thought that had a charismatic Zoe found me in cyberspace when I was at my most vulnerable and wrote me poetry about apple peelers and undeserving eyes, I could have ended up an Agnes too-- consumed from the outside in.
The lesson of this book for me (if there even is one) is about how oftentimes victims and perpetrators have more in common than we are comfortable admitting. That desperate and lonely people are just as prone to hurt each other as they are to lift each other up. That words on a computer screen can be just as persuasive as those you hear from people in real life. That people will, unfortunately, do anything for love.
Graphic: Gore, Death, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Child death, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Vomit, and Toxic relationship
oliviadecker99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
1.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Animal death, Child death, and Murder
mallory_minerva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I know this book is disliked, and I find the criticisms understandable. I do not dispute the realism issues; people don't really email like that. The texting to me seemed fine on the local level however. The progression of the relationship, as well as the relationship with the Tapeworm, seemed most unrealistic, but in some ways the psychological nuance of it was very interesting. I have mixed feelings on that front. I also am unsure about the claim of the author fetishizing lesbians. I didn't pick up on it much myself but I can see why others do.
I honestly found it mostly fun. I read it in one sitting which is rare for me. The characters are good and distinct, and the scenes conveyed through texts and emails are really vivid. I also liked Agnes's tendency to tell anecdotes; a lot of the literary merit is in those moments and I actually do buy that someone would just infodump anecdotes to make a point. I think the online take on an epistolary novel was well done all things considered; this is an epistolary novel and it will read like letters, not emails, and that's fine.
The horror is... The body horror is better than the psychological horror. I did not enjoy the BDSM aspects, and the animal cruelty really felt out of place for both characters and plot-necessitated. The Findom was underexplored but maybe that's a good thing. Zoe places enough emphasis on consent and caution that I didn't really perceive much manipulation. I didn't pick up on it until she self-discloses out of guilt and concern. There's moments where I feel things are getting worse and Agnes is blundering into a bad situation though, which is good psychological horror. The body horror is well-done.
I wanted to read trash after Foucault broke me, and I certainly got it. I get the low average but this book came to me at the right time I guess.
PS: this is the most content warnings I've ever added for a review. I guess I don't do horror much.
Graphic: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Child death, Animal cruelty, Self harm, Gore, Body horror, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Suicide
shelbymarie314's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Murder, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Violence, Child death, and Gore
lucygoosey522's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Animal death and Emotional abuse