Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite

38 reviews

katelynalice's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Incest and Stalking

isaiahh's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-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? No

5.0

Horror is not my preferred genre of literature (or of anything, for that matter), and gore makes me feel like my bones and organs are too big for my body. But when a book promises me unhinged gay serial killers and cannibalism, what can I do but give in?

When I say Exquisite Corpse is unhinged, please know I mean it with all my heart. It has got all the Trigger Warnings, Content Warnings—it is full of disgusting things... And I adored it. 
Before writing this review, I was asking myself how to possibly do so without seeming weird myself for saying I truly, deeply enjoyed a book that deals with such dark themes. Then I reminded myself fiction is exactly that, fiction. And if reading about a gay serial killer faking his death to get out of prison and kill more boys is what floats my boat, then so be it. Reminder for everyone: what we like to read is not necessarily a reflection of our values and morals! This was my PSA!

Now, I'm obligated to tell you, ask you, BEG you, to please check TWs for this crazy little gem because it truly is full of disgusting, gruesome, vile things, some described in ghastly details. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Self harm, and Suicide

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Vomit

racl's review

challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.25

It's not an easy read, and not one I can recommend to many people in good conscience. It's graphic in many ways - gore, sex, disease, anger - all of which is beautifully and carefully written. Each character feels distinct and well formed as they enter the story and begin to intertwine with each other throughout the novel. I didn't know much going in, but I enjoyed the reality and different perspectives of gay men dealing with the AIDS epidemic (and how it wasn't the motive for either of the murderers). I felt it was handled well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Excrement, and Vomit

Minor: Hate crime, Incest, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Pandemic/Epidemic

remghoul's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder

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

Minor: Cursing, Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Outing

quietlex's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I have no complaints. As twisted as it is, I was cheering inside when Andrew and Jay finally found each other. To be able to know another so deeply at their core, and have your fleeting time together ripped away so soon. This is a beautifully written dark horror, eloquent and right to the point. The ending feels a bit rushed and sad, such is death. Very fitting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

niccolowilliam's review

dark sad tense fast-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

2.0

It started out horrible then got slightly better towards the end. Dont get me wrong i love disturbing and grotesque things. It honestly wasnt the way they talked about cannibalism and necrophillia it was the weird was they talked about asians and the fact that its clearly Jeffery dahmer 'inspired' (im using the nicer word) which made me really uncomfortable. His victims were real people and the author is definitely not in the demographic that dahmer went after to say the least so ot just feels tone deaf. Every gay charecter is a negative stereotype and

jay and andrew dont even meet until near the end of the story but the summary makes it seem like the main point of the book will be them together not just the mediocre conclusion

Even the sexual and gory stuff (so every other page) felt more for the sake of being shocking and disturbing than weaving an actual plot sometimes. I gave it two stars because there are definitely some moments i liked but i dont even have the energy to write every single issue i had with this story down

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Slavery, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, and Outing

books_onthe_ground's review

challenging dark funny tense fast-paced

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

4.0

See, this is the kind of book that you can’t just say “I loved it!” because you will get concerning looks but I did, in fact, love this book. I enjoyed reading it immensely! Which is strange to say because of the absolute horrendous and extremely graphic things that happen in this book, but that’s the point!! It’s supposed to be one of the most uncomfortable and graphic things you’ve ever read and it boy does it succeed in that!! This is probably the most graphic thing I’ve ever read and it FASCINATED me. As a horror reader and writer it was so interesting to see how much Billy was able to put in the book and it’s definitely going to be a book that stays in my head throughout my career. It’s not a book I would recommend for everyone because of the extreme content warns however I will absolutely be yelling about this book for YEARS to come. I’m so so so happy I finally read it and I can’t wait to read more of Billy’s work!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

emmablue's review

dark slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Incest, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, and Outing

winsomefish's review

challenging dark funny medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Homophobia, Incest, and Grief

sammysamsam's review

dark tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Slavery, Excrement, Death of parent, and Colonisation