Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Red X by David Demchuk

8 reviews

takecoverbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Daring, tragic, horrifying, and inventive in equal measure, Red X is one of the most powerful books I’ve read this year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Just, all the trigger warnings. It’s a lot.

maggiegould's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

so i just. don't read horror all that often. not usually my cup of tea. i love horror elements within texts and media, but horror itself i have never really been overly drawn to. red x, though, i had to read for a class (queer literature in Canada), and boy, am i glad i did. scary, insightful, heartbreaking, moving, anger-inducing, and funny, i don't think i have ever enjoyed reading a book for a class as much as i did this one. it is not an easy read: it is graphic, unsettling, and weird. you certainly could not read it if you were homophobic. but the payoff, especially when you consider the real-life events that inspired this book, is more than worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Sexual harassment

evanlorant's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

blood's review against another edition

really unique one but i am kind of surprised i haven't heard more about it given what it is. gay horror that breaks and blurs the fourth wall, fiction interspersed with essay and memoir, ensemble cast of characters, spanning the 80s to 2016. truly creeped me out like my arm hair was standing up. someone i know read this so we can talk about it please.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Torture, and Murder

danidamico's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

En el año 2018, la policía canadiense detuvo a un sujeto sospechado de haber asesinado a ocho personas, en su mayoría hombres gay, en Toronto entre 2010 y 2017. Uno de esos hombres, Andrew Kinsman, era un activista importante en la comunidad LGBTQ+ de la zona y amigo del escritor David Demchuk. Eventualmente, se comprobó que el detenido era culpable de los crímenes y fue condenado a veinticinco años de prisión. A partir de este suceso, Demchuk empezó a construir lo que más tarde sería Red X, un mosaico basado en datos históricos, experiencias propias, folklore escocés y ficción.

A lo largo de cinco capítulos, vamos siguiendo las desapariciones de un grupo de hombres y el sufrimiento de sus amigos y seres queridos, sumidos en la incertidumbre. Es muy difícil sintetizar todo lo que sucede en esta novela y mis sentimientos al respecto. Me gustó muchísimo, es un libro que parece estar en un estado constante de desborde: voces desesperadas que buscan sobrevivir, que buscan compañía, amor, no quedarse solos ni ser olvidados. Esa urgencia atraviesa todo el texto.

Si bien es un libro en el que predomina el miedo, entre todo ese sufrimiento aparecen destellos de comunidad, de amor, de aquellos que no olvidan a los que ya no están en este mundo. Red X es terrorífico, pero en su centro hay un corazón humano que late y persiste. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

skeletonsinmysleeves's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia

kyletells's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This is the perfect book of hauntings. It's devastating and perfectly devastating. Centered around queer communities and the AIDS crisis in Toronto across multiple timelines, Demchuk somehow weaves every type of haunting in one novel. Time slips by, and it feels real (new relationships; changing city landscapes; deaths—everything moves by with so little comment but with major impact); meanwhile, people slip into the maws of a monster. Every man who goes missing in this book is deeply characterized in the smallest amount of space. That's not a spoiler—you're informed in chapter 1 that a man goes missing. And while the monster is horrifying, what's really scary is forgetting these incredibly depicted people you knew so well because there's another very deep character, another year, and another man missing within a few chapters. This book has a large cast but with very identifiable, rich characters. The language is perfect, the pacing amazing, the dialogue and commentary sometimes so biting I cackled, and while it's a hard-to-stomach read at times, it's a novel I'll likely re-read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Sexual harassment

The graphic horror is shown mostly after the event or described at a time after it occurs, though it is still graphic. Example: police violence is not depicted in the scene but by the police cleanup, which still is quite graphic through suggestion.

deandra_lalonde's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment