peggy_racham's review against another edition
5.0
Women's rights but more importantly women's wrongs.
Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, Gore, Rape, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
fadeddpages'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: Cannibalism, Gore, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Violence, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Panic attacks/disorders
snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Murder, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Infidelity
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
maria_luciani'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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Cannibalism, Gore, Sexual content, and Body horror
Moderate: Stalking, Drug use, Misogyny, and Rape
hello_lovely13'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
3.75
Graphic: Cannibalism, Murder, Sexual content, and Gore
Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use
Minor: Homophobia and Fatphobia
veelaughtland'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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, Cancer, Blood, Murder, Car accident, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Drug use and Rape
joshoonet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
- As a non native english speaker, I had too google quite a few words
- Incredibly delicious, colourful and visceral descriptions
- The sex was - at times - a bit much for me, but it fit the theme very well and I got used to it
- Timeless vibes for some reason
- The protagonist (and writer of the story in form of a memoir) is deadly smart and she knows it well, hence some uncommon turns of phrase, some unusual words, some very pretty poetic writing
- Feels strangely detached from the happenings of the story, readers will know why. It works.
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Alcohol, Blood, Sexual content, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual assault, Car accident, Rape, Stalking, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
augustpeach_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I loved that each chapter was named after a particular ingredient or meal related to Dorothy's (and her victim's) lives. Especially.. the Rump Roast :)
Pay attention to the content warnings! Not a novel for a queasy stomach.
I purchased this book and plan on keeping it due to the writing style.
Graphic: Violence, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death and Drug use
I loved the writing style, I found the food related/recipe/restaurant parts of the novel informative and interesting. If you enjoy food and restaurant writing, you will enjoy this aspect.podun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Animal death, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, and Drug use