Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed: Stories by Mariana Enríquez

56 reviews

sadlytriste's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

It was my first time reading a collection of short stories and my first horror book, and I found the experience quite enjoyable. Immersing myself in one story at a time was a unique experience, but some of the stories were so compelling that I couldn't resist reading more. It felt like a fantastic foray into the world of horror literature. Mariana Enriquez's writing style is captivating and enthralling, keeping me eagerly anticipating what would happen next with every page turn. Mariana Enriquez skillfully delves into a wide range of themes, including witchcraft, curses, trauma, and forbidden desires.

Among all the stories, "Meat" and "Kids Who Come Back" were my favorites. However, I should note that the stories can be pretty vile, so if you don't like that, you should probably avoid it. Overall, I would rate the collection 4 out of 5.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, and Murder

rowanelisa's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury

goldbs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

theresa_carmody's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

norea999's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Indescribably good short story collection (I love fast-paced stories) and a great introduction to Latin American horror though well-deserving of its many trigger warnings

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Violence

Moderate: Pedophilia and Suicide attempt

wilfredamadeus's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Trafficking, and Suicide attempt

veposve's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Cannibalism

nefarious_rat's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

collection of short stories so character progression and such is difficult, but within each story the characters were distinct and never felt rushed, some of the stories were not to my taste but still very well written, favourites are, our lady of the quarry, the well, the lookout (particularly the characterisation of elina), where are you dear heart (grotesque and delicious my absolute favourite i keep re-reading it), and meat (a very close second favourite for the exact same reasons)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Medical trauma, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

mijtje's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

2.25

The only thing interesting about this book was the cover.

“Meat” and “Kids Who Come Back” saved it from 1 star.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

ellewhyoh's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I sometimes have a problem giving short story collections a fair shake, because I feel like ambiguous endings and unanswered questions are an inherent component of the genre, and that kind of drives me crazy.

That being said, this collection was very intriguing, and the unanswered questions drove me less crazy than usual. This book delved into a lot of different types of horror and the supernatural, but a strong theme amongst most of them was memory and disappearance. When is something lost? Is loss best understood as an action, or as a noun? Is it wrong or right to let the shadows take their toll? 

Overall this collection was very intriguing, and it will leave me thinking.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Trafficking

Minor: Vomit, Car accident, and Suicide attempt