Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

13 reviews

crocodilerocklobster's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Death, Violence, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Cursing, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Racism, Sexual content, Abortion, and Miscarriage

punkrockingnerd's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

There are def some sections crossed out because of trigger stuff, but DAGNABBIT, Ms. Flynn is SUCH a good writer

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Stalking, Trafficking, Abandonment, Car accident, and Incest

kingcrookback's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

This is my second Gillian Flynn after Sharp Objects, and while I rank Dark Places below Sharp Objects, I did enjoy this. It's well-paced and Flynn maintains the tension and intrigue throughout. I wasn't entirely surprised by the ending, largely because the hints were seeded throughout the story well enough that the reveal felt like it fell into place in a way that made sense - which is honestly more satisfying than twist ending geared toward pure shock. I think this might make for a decent reread for that reason. I also enjoyed the exploration of the unglamorous, more unsavory aspects of grief and trauma - Libby's anger, the sluggishness of her depression, her desire to isolate. Like Sharp Objects, this is great source material for a miniseries, in the right hands and with a good cast; shame the 2015 adaptation wasn't well-received.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Gore, Child death, Death of parent, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Vomit, Pedophilia, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

betag1013's review against another edition

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism, Alcohol, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Cursing

jackbifrost's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Murder, Animal cruelty, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Moderate: Incest, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion, Cancer, Suicide, Racial slurs, and Fire/Fire injury

cammiem8's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.25

This books is very difficult for me to review. Living up to its title, Dark Places is certainly the darkest, most misanthropic, most viscerally disgusting book Gillian Flynn has written to date. It is not a pleasant read, yet her prose so expertly invokes feelings of dread and repulsion. And it is repulsive, not even the gore of the murders, but the nasty, offputting details in the everyday of the characters. Not one character is likeable. While Libby isn’t as pathetic as Camille, nor as cunningly cruel and calculating as Amy, she’s the most easily hated of Flynn’s trouble women protagonists. It’s the most seething condemnation of true crime fans (deservedly so) I’ve ever seen, and this coming from the woman who wrote the introduction to I’ll Be Gone In the Dark as a fan of the genre herself. A very interesting read, it certainly not enjoyable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Classism, Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Pedophilia, and Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy and Body shaming

Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, and Racism

the_one_krissy's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

2.75

This was my second thriller in a row that had nothing but despicable, mean and creepy people in it. Oh, and weak and pathetic losers. And also a total psychopath I was immediately convinced had something to do with the murders, and sure enough, that turned out to be true.

I guess this book was entertaining enough, but I hate it when there's nobody I can root for or even mildly like in the cast. Not a fan of this type of tales.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol and Drug abuse

Minor: Racism

girl_interrupted's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Murder, and Child death

Minor: Racism and Homophobia

eitheror's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Pedophilia, Violence, Grief, Child death, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Racism

There's a really gross loogie scene at one point in the book. I had to skip a paragraph. Great book otherwise tho

anne311's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit