Reviews with content warning for Incest - Pure Colour

Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Pure Colour by Sheila Heti

15 reviews

bloupibloupreads's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.25

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arebe's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

1.0

Some authors express their ideas through the play of characters and events. Heti bravely eschews most of the trappings that typically make a "novel" in favor of beautifully worded grandiose statements of fact about the nature of reality. Really not my jam, I was reminded most of what it was like to sit with a friend in hyper-mania: unreachable, absurd, and vaguely judgey.

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audreyxine's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

There were so many parts of this book that took my breath away. So many quotes were SO profound and touching. I cannot believe how nuanced and lifelike the human relationships are in such a short book.

At the same time I also have some real icks, particularly the incestuous language about her father. It was so uncomfortable and detached, I really really hated it. I also was thrown off by the focus on "fixers" at the end. I could be biased because I'm a mental health counseling student but it felt very anti-psychology and anti-therapy. I'm still confused about what "fixing" is supposed to represent if it doesn't represent therapy. Oh well.

It's hard for me to say how I feel about it because I REALLY loved and REALLY hated different parts for drastically different reasons.

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meremeth's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Little too much ejaculation talk for my taste

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hellobillieb's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

1.5

I don’t think i would ever recommend this book which is disappointing. There were some really beautiful sentences and descriptions of working through grief. But that wasn’t worth the absurd parts of the book…which included some disturbing and unnecessary incest ?! Descriptions. Idk even how to explain it. Also the leaf part? Idk

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dizzyindecision's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No

2.0

There were a handful of sentences that I loved/thought were beautiful but I hated pretty much everything else. idk. maybe I’m not big brained enough to appreciate it. Definitely could have done without all of the references to incest. 🤢

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oliviahamilton's review against another edition

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adventurous funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I really loved this book. I listened on audio while coloring in a coloring book, which was ideal. It's such a weird and sweet book, with bursts of true inspiration and hilariously absurd scenarios. It felt like the book an alien would write after spending a few decades on earth.

I also enjoyed the climate themes peppered in -- talking about the absurdity of the "first draft of existence" and our small obsessions that lead to systemic issues.

I have a feeling I'll go back and read the physical copy sometime to pick up on more of the sentence structure and detail. Definitely need to surrender all expectations for this one (and as another reviewer said, could have done without the "ejaculation" in relation to her father's spirit) but if you do, it's a short and fun ride.

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woolgatherer's review against another edition

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reflective sad medium-paced

2.75

Well, this was a short and deceptively simplistic read. You don’t need to use overly complicated language to dive deep into philosophical themes, as Heti proves in Pure Colour. I think what was a miss for me, though, was I wasn’t quite sure what point she wanted to get across, or if there even was a point, considering that there isn’t really a plot (a lot of fragmented writing, which I don’t mind), nor was there much character development (which I kind of minded). It admittedly reached a point where everything felt superficial in the book’s attempt to be profound. And yet, I kept reading, in part because I found the language engaging.

One thing I can say with certainty is I was very weirded out by the incestuous nature of the narrator and her dead father’s relationship? I don’t know, but it was definitely not on my bingo card to read that his spirit ejaculated into her.

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itsheyfay's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

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savvylit's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

How to describe this incredibly unique book? A transcendent fable. A celebration of mortality. A bizarre meditation on grief. A guidebook for humanity. A loving ode to trees. A manifesto on the necessity of art. A novel filled with truth and clarity. Unforgettable.

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