Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

43 reviews

elysests's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.0

So, so weird! Really interesting and atmospheric, but painfully slow at times. This book swerves from a tense and drawn own suspense novel to a devastatingly drawn out psychological horror ending. Even as a person who loves suspense/thrillers, and psychological storylines, I wish the author would have cinched together more of the (very cool) threads. Love the symbolism though, and the characters feel fresh. More specifics below the spoiler tag.

I really felt like the ending was unsatisfying— there are so many details I’m left confused by. I get that Jake was the janitor the whole time, and he was imagining what could have happened with a girl to care about him, but what was the man outside the window waving when she was a little girl? What about the scratches in the basement? What was the deal with the video in the janitor’s room, and the freaky notes? I feel like I barely understand what the caller signifies, and what their message means. This book is haunting, and definitely tense, but I wish the ending could have relieved some of the tension instead of just letting out the air. :/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit

ewwa18's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

moxiereads's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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? It's complicated

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

josieee_p's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

alliefresh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

A quote from the book that almost brought me to tears:

What if the maggots continue to feed and feed and feed and continue to be felt.

A detailed yet small book, filled with philosophical questions left without an answer. 

A horror of the human mind.

A book of small, yet seemingly large, human anecdotes that are tied into a bow at the end. Wrapping it up perfectly for a sinister ending.

I highly recommend this and it's film. A film that takes the book and twists it into a kafkesque existential dream. It may be different, but it's core is the same. Only the decorations are different.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Blood

kaleegannon's review against another edition

3.5

genuinely frightening!! very atmospheric, unsettling. enjoyed the dialogue in the first half a lot, too. minus points for the ending but really enjoyed the ride up until then.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Stalking and Gaslighting

Minor: Ableism and Blood

suicide:

character dies by suicide in last couple pages. act described in detail. suicidal thoughts leading up to act also described in detail.

animal death:

character sees multiple dead animals on a farm. another character describes in detail euthanizing sick farm animals.

jumiofdiamonds's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

mollstothewall's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

“Are you good or are you bad?”
What scares me most now is that I don’t know the answer.

Unsettling and tense but subtle in a way that makes everything slowly creep up on you. The very abrupt shift right near the end, where you immediately know something has changed and you can’t go back, it’s all so creepy and confusing but really well done.

I read another review that said, “This book makes you scared, but you don’t know why,” and that’s exactly it. It reminds me of Shutter Island or even The Machinist. You’ll question things but you don’t know why until it’s right in your face. I’m not much one for psychological horror, but if that’s your vibe, you’ll definitely enjoy this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

sebbear's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

sad janitor story :(

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

missgrangerr'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

5.0

I cannot stop thinking about this book. I read it two weeks ago and I cannot shake this book, in the best way. 

Disclaimer: this book is not going to be for everyone. However those is is for will be consumed with this story. This is about all I can say without ruining the book. It really is a fantastic book that will stay with you for a while after reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Death