Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis

3 reviews

nomonbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

2.5

This was well written, I just didn't like it. I didn't enjoy the gore and the tone or the people. I wanted to keep reading and that's pretty significant given what I didn't enjoy but also I'm so so glad I finally finished it. People who like thrillers may like this.

Also in regards to what happened (spoilers for ending)

I am like 100% sure in my mind at least that the trawler were the adult cult members and this was a story about a bunch of messed up kids left to their own devices too much, not cared for and adultified resulting in horrible conclusions. Everyone (of the children) was a victim here. The violent crime we see on page committed by a child is Brett murdering Robert. And that was a huge failure of every adult involved that let it get to that point. (And I know he's old enough to take responsibility for that somewhat but as with any crime in the real world committed by a 16 year old thecl context is so so important - and I know Robert has been accused of sexual abuse and I'm not absolving him from that responsibility but acknowledging that he was a victim here too from his father, and from the cult).

I don't think Brett attacked Susan and Thom, as it seems a bit random and out of character for him and it's more a further example of how things can are and will spiral in absence of I don't know, adult responsibility and supervision and putting it all on kids. The paranoia that seeped into their relationships and lack of trust for eachother and I think in the world generally to look after them.

They consistently had absent parents, drug addict parents, parents who are perpetrators of sexual abuse, alcoholic parents. The level of neglect is overwhelming, the absence of modeling of healthy interactions and relationships. The total lack of guidance from any adult in my opinion is what got them to where they ended up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

frekdal's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

dylan2219's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

In so many ways typical BEE fare - here are the brands, here are the bands, here are the cars, here are the drugs, here are the blood and the cum and the emotional nihilism - but also has a weirdly mournful quality brought by his stab at (parody of?) auto fiction. The book is maddeningly repetitive and overlong - definitely a consequence of his serialisation of it - and for long stretches I was bored out of my mind. Even if this is the desired effect, it remains (like in American Psycho) massively unpleasant to read. Like that book, too, sex and violence are treated with a medical-gothic style that makes it grow increasingly anaesthetic. It would be more effective without Ellis’ needless signposting that he is chasing after that feeling of blunting and numbness that he has cultivated his whole career. By the far the most interesting aspect, improved by his own reading of the audiobook, is the way he seems genuinely traumatised and haunted by his own career and life. He is aware that his childhood and adolescence has infected him with a kind of strange desire for transgression, that ultimately leaves him cold and affectless. His books, too, have brought him no pleasure, and writing feels more like a way for him to try and get it all out of his system. I can respect and admire this, and we are given more insight into Ellis’ protagonist (and hence, self) by the level of first-person psychological detail, in a way that is more compelling than in his other work. And the narrative twists, and slow unravelling of this voice as the book goes on only adds to the appeal. Not sure I think this is a good book, but there are things about it I enjoyed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, and Murder