Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica

11 reviews

lexcellent's review

dark emotional reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

masonwe's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

1.0

I really did not like this I almost dnf’d it

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

femmeprints's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I loved this short story book. Adiobooking this type of book can be hard because everything is just so fast paced but I really liked it. Most of the stories were deeply dark, mysterious, grotesque, obscure, and horror based. Really good for those who are into those types of stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Cannibalism, and Abortion

bookworm_haley's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder

kjlewis494's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent

bonnie3088's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This book is magical and raw. It is gruesome in subtle and overt ways, disturbing in the artisti  ways. It is a book that focuses on the horror of being a woman, the innocence of being a child, and the weight of being a parent. 
I think the writing is amazing and challenges what we know. The imagery is remarkable and the scenes she writes makes me shutter even rethinking them.
There is a variety of stories encased in this short work that I think would appeal to a variety of ppl. I think there are works in here that don't need a lot of critical thinking to understand the overall message and there are some that you would need to take a step back from and really take in all that has been given. 

All in all this book will stay in my mind for a long time and deserves more attention. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and War

mermaidsherbet's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

itsheyfay's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicide, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Abortion

lovelylilelle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

abbie_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

3.5

Thanks to Netgalley & Pushkin Press for my e-arc!

Agustina Bazterrica burst into the English-speaking literary world in 2020 with the disturbing Tender Is the Flesh, a book I loved, and her second offering in translation is a morbid collection of short stories. Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird all, more or less, focus around themes of death and dying, and I won’t lie it can weigh heavily on the reader at times!

There are some reprieves in the almost flash fiction-like stories - punchy little morsels like Roberto (a young girl finds a rabbit growing between her legs) and The Continuous Equality of the Circumference (a woman strives for her ultimate goal - to become a perfect circle) that you read in about two minutes but think about for the next hour. The rest of the stories are all also quite short (none longer than 20 pages and most around 10), so you do feel like you’re flying through it. There were a few stories that just went right over my head - the language here is quite different to Tender is the Flesh (brutal in its sparseness), with more flowery prose that meant some stories felt more like style over substance. (As a side note, Sarah Moses has translated both and I’d love to hear her thoughts on the differences between the texts!)

However, there are some heavy hitters that I loved and that truly unsettled me: The Solitary Ones, which will make you never want to ride an underground train again; Teicher Vs Nietzsche, a darkly funny stand-off between a man and his ex’s cat; and Mary Carminum, where a group of women hide something more sinister behind gaudy costume jewellery. I also loved the vibe of Elena-Marie Sandoz, which completely caught me off-guard by the end.

Overall, a solid collection which is a must-read for those of you who enjoy your short fiction on the darker side!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Blood