Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Jedyni dobrzy Indianie by Stephen Graham Jones

98 reviews

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

2.25

Finished reading: December 27th 2023

“When the whole world hurts, you bite it. Don't you?”

WARNING: it's unpopular opinion time again!!

I should have known this would happen. I've come to the conclusion that literary fiction just isn't for me, although there have been exceptions in the past... I guess this story ended up being another nail in the coffin of this subgenre though. Don't get me wrong: I was SO intrigued by the premise of The Only Good Indians, and I loved the social commentary and own voices Native American aspect. This is probably the only reason I kept reading, because I had a very BIG issue with this book. There was just something about the writing style I clashed horribly with, and I was only feeling more annoyed and frustrated with each page... Add the often slow pace and confusing POV and timeline switches, and let's just say that I wasn't really motivated to continue reading The Only Good Indians. I even put it on hold twice to see if that would help... But in the end I simply don't think I'm a good match for his author's writing style. That said, I also struggled with the characters themselves, which felt rather flat and were both unlikeable and easy to mix up. Things also get pretty graphic with lots of focus on violence, hunting and animal cruelty... I usually don't mind a more twisted plot, but there was a bit too much focus on the animal cruelty to my taste. Anyhow, I guess that The Only Good Indians is just one of those books that you either absolutely love or struggle to finish... Sadly, I ended up belonging to the second group, and I confess that I caught myself skimreading more than once. It's such shame, because I really wanted to love this one! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Addiction, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cursing, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Stalking, Suicide, Animal cruelty, and Body horror

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Gore, Murder, Racism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Grief, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Addiction, Colonisation, Animal death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Drug abuse, Child death, and Bullying

Minor: Pedophilia and Police brutality

mdwsn27's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mass/school shootings, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Animal death, Torture, Gore, Stalking, Grief, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Vomit and Blood

maryfranvs's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Vomit, Alcohol, and Blood

sonygaystation's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Wow this was unbelievably boring sprinkled wifh approximately two (2) interesting scenes and way too graphic animals deaths!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol and Gun violence

Minor: Racism, Addiction, Colonisation, and Sexual content

whitwithabook's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I ended up picking this book back up. I thought it was a unique premise and wanted to give it another chance. It was slow throughout the book and a bit confusing. I loved the idea of the book and wish i could have been more into it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism

georgiesutton's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.0

I found the story overall really good and interesting, but I felt like the writing style really ruined this book for me. The pacing was off and some sentences and paragraphs were impossible to follow which meant action would happen but I’d be confused about what actually happened. Especially in a book where reality is questioned, I found key events were not well described. I loved the family and friendship dynamics, the basketball and native culture, but some bits dragged and some were just plain confusing. 

Overall I feel like it was a really intriguing premise but between the pacing and the writing it wasn’t all that enjoyable to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Death, Child death, Blood, Murder, Vomit, Violence, Death of parent, Car accident, Body horror, and Animal death

mary_stormageddon's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.75

There was very little structure to this book which made it hard to read at times. I'm still not sure I fully followed the plot. But it scared me, it kept me up all night, upset. And that's what I was hoping for. Also, I learned a fair bit. Not sure if I'll read any more of his books, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Gore, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

The Only Good Indians is such a compelling and gripping horror story once you get into it. The beginning is a little slow, and the author makes you work to decipher his writing style - but it pays off to figure out the rhythm of it. I especially liked the various POV shifts and the importance of even the most miniscule details. Will definitely be reading more by Stephen Graham Jones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Racism, Stalking, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Hate crime, Body horror, Grief, Gun violence, Suicide, and Torture

Moderate: Classism, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs

Minor: Vomit and Infertility

viccreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, Murder, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gore