blackcatkai's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
no. i get that it's supposed to be a satire overall and youre not meant to like the main character, but my biggest issue was how boring the entire novel is. and technically, it's only a satire in regards to the universe of food in real life, not the sexism or murder or sex or society as a whole or whatever. so maybe if it had JUST been about that, it would've been more successful for me. then the character of Dorothy would've read better with her vapid, self important, condescending, holier than thou bullshit. but not here, not when you throw in everything else.
pacing? all over the place, mainly slow. cannibalism and violence? well, its THERE, technically? but it takes forever to get to the gruesome bits and then theyre lackluster at best. this doesnt feel feminist or inclusive or a biting commentary on anything other than narcissists suck. there's also a ton of nuanced information presented in a non-nuanced way that feels like im reading an incomplete wikipedia page with no sources and missing key context. we get it, the author learned about a lot of things and wanted us to know about them, even if some info was left out, leading to what feels like misinformation, even in a fictional story.
this is more a book about gratuitous sex, fancy food, and trips to europe because its the best (except new york city, of course) than it is about cis-female empowerment, cannibalism, or violence. its repetitive use of simile, speaking down to the reader, and infodumps, left me disengaged, bored, and desperate for the end.
basically, this book was not for me, and im so glad its finally over. thank you.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Classism, Rape, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Ableism, Racial slurs, Racism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Gore, Murder, and Body horror
Moderate: Sexual assault, Outing, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Mental illness, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Cancer, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Drug use, Cannibalism, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Transphobia
peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, Body horror, and Car accident
Moderate: Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Stalking
Minor: Death of parent, Classism, Cursing, Excrement, and Forced institutionalization
autumngk'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? It's complicated
2.75
Spoiler
after she’s adjusted to prison life during their group when the arsonist is telling her story and some of the other women are talking and Dorothy reveals a possible change in her feelings about what she’s done/herself. It’s not worthy of a sequel, just a couple more chapters here and there. While what we’re left with is a complete picture, it felt like there were just some missed opportunities. So many offers were put up in the air by introducing her in the present as working in the library; especially given her relationship with Emma, it felt unfinished in a way. We know so much about her while she’s cannibalizing and murdering these men senselessly, but it feels pointless to still know her while she’s imprisoned and know so little about her in the present. She still has the same voice. She still speaks the same about humanity. What about her changed? if nothing did, why this story? Why now? Just to sell cannibal torture porn?Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Classism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Forced institutionalization
itsheyfay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Either way, I’m going to be thinking about this for a while.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Death, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Car accident, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism
Minor: Cancer, Antisemitism, and Death of parent
clavelita's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Blood, Cannibalism, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, and Vomit
toofondofbooks_'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
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Misogyny, Infidelity, Murder, Cannibalism, Car accident, Gun violence, Animal death, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Death, Classism, Sexual assault, Cancer, Drug use, Rape, Excrement, and Vomit
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Genocide, Pedophilia, Slavery, Racism, and Outing
feliz_in_a_bucket's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Car accident, Confinement, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal death, Death, Gore, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, and Mental illness
boglord's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Car accident, Drug abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Infidelity, Alcohol, Animal death, Classism, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Antisemitism, Cancer, Body shaming, Incest, and Adult/minor relationship
lycheejelly'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
Graphic: Violence, Cancer, Alcoholism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death of parent, Rape, Infidelity, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Blood, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Animal death, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, Medical content, Stalking, Outing, Body shaming, Classism, Incest, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
mermaidsherbet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Animal death, Cannibalism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Blood, Death, Infidelity, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Drug use, Cancer, Classism, Cursing, and Death of parent