Reviews tagging 'Grief'

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

11 reviews

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

This is an incredibly confusing but beautiful book. I went into this expecting it to be about suicide, then thought it was about the end of a relationship, and then it went full circle and back to suicide. The experience of reading this feels like watching Black Mirror, very trippy and gut wrenching. 

The writing is absolutely beautiful, and for a horror/thriller, it has some amazing lines that really hit me in my personal feels. This book covers the difficulty of relationships, family dynamics, mental health and stalking all in one tiny little novel, and i truly think it’s one of the best modern literary fiction books i’ve read; this will definitely be considered a classic in the future! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

drpeeper's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Stalking

Minor: Grief and Injury/Injury detail

sargasso_c's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This is the only novel ever that I have finished, and then reread from page one. Definitely worth the read and I look forward to reading more works by this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

i have never read any other book like this so far. the concept was fascinating and i thought it was executed well for the most part. the only issue was i wish the ending was explained a little bit better. i did have to do some research to understand the ending which i did not think i should have to do. maybe i just missed something though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

inmyhead's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

You definitely are going to have to look up the explanation or re-read the book to understand what's actually happening, it's amazing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Grief

It's really sad once you figure out what's actually happening but I do think it's definitely an awakening of almost saying "Don't stay to much in your head" and to talk to others or it will drive you mad and cause sadness.

sar_a_i's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

alexxm13's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.75

what the fuck. i’m so confused like it was alright for the first 90% but by the last chapter i was so confused did jake make this character of the girl??? and killed himself cause he felt alone? IM SORRY WHAT IS THIS😭😭😭 the way the author twisted it so much at the end got me all confused like okay so u went into an abondoned school’s closet to be alone and die there but made up this random girl’s story for “what if” this happens scenario like oh i liked that girl but was too scared cause i have intense social anxiety so i become a character, this book would have been great except the ending i am so confused.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abandonment, and Dysphoria

bookishgoob's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

“Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can't fake a thought.” Slow burning and confusing, taking place over the span of 1 evening, this book will have you questioning things the entire time. is the main character being treated poorly? is she being gaslit? what is going on? why isn’t he telling her anything? why won’t he listen to her? those are all questions i had while reading this book. those questions didn’t get answered until the very end. it’s a very quick read but the slow burn aspect will make you wonder how long you’ve actually been reading. the conversations the main characters have can be incredibly dull and boring, but it really is kind of like that in a relationship. not every conversation is going to be interesting, and not every conversation you have will be interesting to others. this book ends sort of the way that the outsiders does, but that isn’t necessarily as clear, so i recommend that once you finish, you go back and re read the first couple pages. maybe even just the 1st page could be helpful, it really ties the story together completely. the imagery was unsettling and the story telling was great. all in all, 3.5/5 just because i was confused for a lot of it and it was too slow for my liking. but it is a good and suspenseful read good for a spooky season one-sitting book or even a cold and comfy evening when you’re in the mood to be unsettled. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

briannasam's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

ishasbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, and Grief