Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq

54 reviews

froggy1png's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Vomit

Minor: Rape

cluckieduck's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

 Oof. This is a beautiful book, but I can't say I enjoyed it. In fact, I don't think it's written for you to enjoy; it's a harsh, brutal reality of a life in an isolated community that many people are sheltered from knowing, and whether that's good or bad, I'm not one to say.

Tanya Tagaq has such a way with her prose. The juxtaposition of lyrical, poetic flow and crass, vulgar descriptions is really engaging. This was a quick book to read, but the subject matter is far from easy. It is rife with triggering content masked beneath mythical stories that make you question if what you really read just happened, but not wanting to go back and double-check. Some things are better left uncovered.

Empathy is for those who can afford it. Empathy is for the privileged. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

amandaworld's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a difficult book to read & it took me a while to finish because I had to keep setting it down to breathe. Read the content warnings. Don't read before bed. 
Still, it's a beautiful story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Murder

ringofkeyz's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Drug use and Sexual violence

birdsandships's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Such a challenging, gut wrenching book. Disorienting, disturbing, enchanting magical realism. The audio book adds a lot to the experience as Tagaq reads it herself with interludes of throat singing. Very non-linear. One that is going to stay with me for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

thecandlelightlibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

2.0

This is probably one I should not have picked up, but here we are. While the poetry itself was often stunning (and, if you are going to pick this up, I definitely recommend the audiobook version read by the author), there was just so much else I didn't enjoy. Other reviewers have mentioned that they'd be interested in reading more poetry by this author but not another novel, and that's kind of how I feel after finishing this blend of both.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

maddireads13's review against another edition

challenging fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, and Pregnancy

wittchyn's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? 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: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Suicide, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Colonisation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Rape, and Suicide attempt

shelise3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

laurenmiller100's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

3.75

“Fear is learning to run from me. Not the other way around.”

Someone on Goodreads called this book the thorniest of roses, and I have to agree. As others have mentioned, big time trigger warnings on this. It’s vulgar, disturbing, beautiful, brutal, mysterious, magical, and deeply upsetting. Definitely a unique read, but one that I struggled with because the content is so difficult. The plot can be winding, vague, and hard to follow because it’s written as poetry. I don’t have much of a mind for poetry even though I love it, so I don’t know that I really followed all the events of this story. That said, what did make a huge impact on me is the feeling that Tagaq is trying to get across. The ending is beautiful and horrible. Tragic and disquieting. I am glad I read it, and I hope to never read it again.

“We are reverberations of our ancestors and songs of our present selves. It is very quiet in the future as it is in the deep past. The quiet. We always live among the dead. It’s scary but the quiet is our true home. This is why we must make the most of our gristle and meat. We must celebrate being harnessed into our bodies. We are a product of the immense torque that propels this universe. We are not individuals but an accumulation of all that lived before.”

• Characters: 6
• Atmosphere/Setting: 10
• Writing Style: 8
• Plot: 7
• Intrigue: 8
• Logic/Relationships: 4
• Enjoyment: 2

6.2/10 = 3.75 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

Descriptions are extremely graphic and disturbing.