Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

The Pisces by Melissa Broder

171 reviews

cheesentoast's review against another edition

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The main character is so desperate and hard to read that it’s hard to get through this book 
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oddlyartless's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

The fact that the dog is killed by the protagonist sucks so much. It made me sick to my stomach. It feels like a masturbatory self-pitying fantasy about how awful this person's life is. Some of the erotica parts are funny and the protag inner monologue can be funny, too. Bust mostly it's about "nothingness" and I really didn't like it.
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annas_bookshelf_'s review against another edition

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dark reflective sad
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

i feel like i knew early on that i wasn’t going to like how this book turned out. usually i’m not opposed to unlikeable main characters, but she was completely awful in every way with basically zero redeeming or compelling qualities. i hated reading from her perspective and i especially hated how she treated dominic (the dog; spoiler
she ultimately neglects and kills him
).
did dominic really have to die in order for her to experience the tiniest shred of growth?
i don’t think so! clearly, this book is not for me. 
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mackenzie185's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • 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

3.5

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retros_x's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

In the first half I thought it was a mediocre 3/5 contemporary novel about a woman with midlife crisis moving to the big city. Witty, funny, very explicit, but nothing special. But halfway in the book, this completely turns. Even the writing becomes more associative, jumpy. I really loved the second half, although it was not very subtle with the foreshadowing for the final chapter. Kinda wished it would've been a bit more subtle with its symbols and themes. But I was completely intrigued by the end.
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pvid's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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17kmcollins's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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rousse's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad 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

4.25

This is classic Melissa Broder. I always enjoy her gritty depictions of rough emotions. This one was challenging for me though. I'm just not into mermen, sorry. Definitely not my favorite book of hers, but I do appreciate it, and I'm glad that I read it. 
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c_from_marrs's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Some very painfully real moments in a novel with some fantastical elements. I love the complexity she brought to the main character, she isn’t exactly likable in my opinion. And overall I love the tie ins to Greek mythology. I have mixed feelings about
the treatment and death of Dominic, the dog.  I’m not sure if the story needed it, but maybe I’m sensitive about that.
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alex_wordweaver's review against another edition

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

2.0

I didn't really enjoy this book at all. I first picked it up because I found it on a list of queer books. It definitely had some queer undertones, but the MC Lucy's voice/internal monologue and her actions to deal with her problems just grated on me so much. I think the only person (creature?) I kind of liked was Theo the merman and Dominic the dog. Dominic also deserved better.
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