Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

8 reviews

torihbu's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

3.0

this book describes the inner world of a troubled young woman. it's a difficult line to walk, but the author focuses so much on the inner workings of the main character's mind that the book doesn't really have much of a plot until almost the very end. i suppose that's meant to be a representation of the character's own experience--nothing mattering outside of herself until something comes along to force her into reality--but it makes for a slow, boring read. while i understand the main character, she's not very likable (again, likely by the author's design), so the reader is left to spend time only with her for the majority of the book. an interesting concept in theory but falls a bit flat in practice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism

kmcgraw's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

I felt at times it was slow and repetitive but I was truly enthralled from the beginning. I read this in two days and couldn’t put it down. Deals with very dark/heavy themes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Addiction, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

Minor: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, and Abortion

phantompansy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

this was dark, haunting, and entirely captivating. a beautifully written character study of a young woman at her breaking point. I wouldn't recommend it to people who want something to happen, as this is first and foremost a dissection of Eileen as a character, and plot takes a backseat which I really enjoyed. haven't stopped thinking about this since I read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Violence, Vomit, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail

illgiveyouahint's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

2.0

There was one too many talks of bowel movements.
I'm sorry, but I just didn't vibe with the book. I see so many people praising it but to me it was a book where it took forever for something to start happening. The first half of the book was just so boring to me with burst of disgust whenever bowel movements were mentioned. Seriously I started to really detest the word bowels.
 I recognise that this book is just not for me and if I was not given it by my friend I would never have read it. But hey maybe a film adaptation with foxy Anne Hathaway will change my mind, who knows.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Torture, Blood, and Medical content

katieohara's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

I think that this book is one of the best examples of a character study that I have read this year. As a native New Englander if also has a certain sense of for lack of a better word, dark charm for me. However, the book is hurtling you to this big bad moment that it hints at, but it just didn’t feel as bad as I was expecting. But honestly I might just be a spoiled reader to used to the horrifying details of murder podcasts and criminal minds. Perhaps what happened is sick enough and the author is making a subtle point that if you are looking for perversion you are no better than the spoiled rich girl not realizing her idealism has consequences.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Classism

suszsz's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Rape

Minor: Animal cruelty

theboywhocouldfly's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

5.0

i LOVED this book. LOVED!!! and i cant even explain it like just the way it took me along for the ride and by the end i felt like i understood Eileen and rooted for her even though she’s this depraved delusional murderer and a completely unreliable narrator… she gaslighted gatekept and girlbossed me <3

(PLEASE heed the major trigger warning for csa, inc*st and emotional abuse if you choose to read it)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Eating disorder

nialiversuch's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism