Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

15 reviews

kimib79's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

This wasn't written for me. It can best be described as "WTHeck did I just read?"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Grief

ciebeanie's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

for perspective i did this collection for my a-level coursework and to this day i still go back and reread it. despite the pain it caused me i routinely return!

angela carter is a master of prose. she revels in the dark, the gory and the sexual and boy does she do it well - these short stories will leave you thinking about them for weeks. deeply entwined with the second wave of feminism and themes of female identity and sexuality, carter’s work is unrestrained and shines brilliantly because of it, even in all of its complexity. the deeper you start to dive into these stories, the more you find, though they’re certainly enjoyable as surface-level fairy tales, too!

my personal favourites are ‘the bloody chamber’, ‘the erl king’ and ‘the tiger’s bride’. if you’re a fan of british band wolf alice, this collection is where they got their name from.

i would very heavily recommend carter’s essay ‘the sadeian woman’ as an accompaniment to this collection, as it explores more explicitly her thoughts on pornography and women’s sexuality. speaking of which - this book does not shy away from darker topics, though it does handle them with grace, complexity and thought (and the occasional bite of humour to balance the equation). carter was master of her craft and this is arguably her magnum opus - enjoy!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal cruelty

britkasablya's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault

rowanelisa's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

glitterhobbit's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Sexual content, and Cannibalism

joa_price's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.0

Retelling of fairy tales. Massive trigger warning

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

eveningreverie's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

A tour-de-force. Carter is brilliant, horrifying, and fiercely feminist in her retellings of classic fairy tales. I've written pages and pages on "Snow Child," the shortest story in the collection, coming in at under two pages. She's just that good.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Rape

rhi_'s review against another edition

dark medium-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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

amu_m3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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? N/A

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism, Slavery, and Torture

andy_sfc_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

I’m conflicted about this book because the writing is beautiful and so descriptive. You can literally see and feel everything that Angela Carter is writing. However, some of the content (even though I’m aware that the purpose of this book is to be discomforting) is so uncomfortable to read like The Snow Child. What was that?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Classism