Reviews tagging 'Death'

A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride

46 reviews

theartoflanguage's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Formally inventive and also one of the most emotionally brutal books I've read ever. That's a good thing, but makes for a challenging read. The shattered syntax is an effective illustration of the inexpressible trauma that underpins our narrator's every move. Just as she is half-formed, so the prose reflects and expresses her barely formed thoughts in start stop rhythm. Absolutely brilliant!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Suicide

pessimistically_optimist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

kthnlb's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

frank_patrol's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

it took me 2 months to read this book, i had a reading slump half way through it, but it’s also quite difficult to read, not impossible and like you get the main point of each part but it may take a while to actually realise what’s going on 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Religious bigotry

soph1768's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Infidelity

crodgers90's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death

leahnott's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

poetdreaming's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Death and Terminal illness

dashes101's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

Yeah I do not know how to rate this book at all. This was one of the most challenging books I read in 2022, both in content but also in style. The experience of reading this book is draining. The sentences are short and grammatically incorrect; the book grabs, twists, and pushes you through the pages with force. The content itself is very traumatizing, and the main character's mind (which the reader occupies) is simply messy. This book took me nearly a month to read just because I couldn't sit down and breeze through pages. However, I didn't hate this book. It was definitely one of the most unique books I've picked up, but I'm glad I read it overall. This one will definitely stay in my mind for how McBride wields the English language as a weapon for building atmosphere and character. 

As an experience: this book is maybe a 3.5 star read. Its difficult and challenging with very, very few hopeful moments. The relationship between the main character and her brother (to me) felt underdeveloped in their youth and hence the end of the book didn't have the same impact as I felt it could have had. The ending however, is beautifully written, and I really did enjoy it. I also understand the different themes the book juggled (sexuality, coming of age, and religion) but I felt like there was a lot happening all the time that wasn't really developed (?). Things just happened with no real need or reason, which is very fair because that's how life is! But it led it to be a little bland at times. I also understand the reasoning for the main character's sexuality 'growth' (not the right word) but it was extremely uncomfortable to read about.
As a piece of literature: probably 4 / 4.5 stars. I love how unique and aggressive the style is -- it draws you in and persuades you to keep reading. It's almost as if the writing is another character that improves the characters in the novel. I also commend McBride for sticking through and getting this book published after 9 years of rejections. It's definitely worth a read (IF you look through the warnings first and are in a good head space) but don't expect an easy read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Alcohol

miles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism and Excrement