Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite

33 reviews

readingwithgoose's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest

amessina3399's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Is it weird to say that this book was...beautiful? Terribly deranged, and so sick and twisted, but the writing was *chef's kiss*. Brite has such a way with language that even the most horrific descriptions read like poetry. If you are a logophile like myself, this book is a must-read. That being said, expect all of the triggers (except those about women--to be honest, there are few to no women characters in this book). Brite somehow makes you fall in love with all of the characters--flaws, sins, and all--in a way that keeps the story devastating and strong. While this book is about serial killers, it's also about the AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s and how brutally it affected the queer community, and about the intimate lives and fears of the queer community of the time. This book will live on my shelf forever and will forever on be one of my favorites.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Grief

skogsheks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Incest

hijinxed's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

disgusting. amazing. never reading again!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

eris_in_chains's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

Thoroughly enjoyed this book though I must say that it's very much a product of its time (cannot tell whether the author intented to fetishize East Asian men here.) An interesting Jeffrey Dahmer fanfic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

issymaae's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

agravereader's review

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

This book is SO fucked up. So, so, so fucked up. 

I loved it. Not sure what that means for me.

It was character-driven in a way I absolutely cannot resist. Four points of view from four (arguably three) terribly flawed and deranged men in their own ways, but with such love amd obsession interwoven that I felt... something? Toward them. Additionally, the AIDS commentary, specifically how the disease and the tragedy of the people who contracted HIV were treated by society was not what I was expecting from this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, 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, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

venpyre's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

It feels odd to say, but at its loamy, rotting, blackened core, Exquisite Corpse is a love story. 

It was like…. if you were to take a metal detector to a polluted swamp. You’d have to drudge through the gunk and bear the claustrophobic humidity at the chance of finding even a bit of treasure. But somehow that makes what you <i>do</i> find all the more valuable? Not that anyone would advise you to go metal detecting in a swamp but I digress. 

I feel like this book has aged particularly well in time for our era. In a post-NBC-Hannibal world we can more openly study depictions of love and lust in literature that splinter into death, obsession, and the need to consume/meld into one.

Brite’s ability to conjure these characters, the vilest people you could never dream up in your worst nightmares, is nothing short of astounding. Without comparing the texts too heavily (as I believe they exist for starkly different reasons) Andrew’s inner monologue reminded me somewhat of the eloquent but absolutely atrocious musings of Nabokov’s infamous protagonist, Humbert Humbert. The gleam of poetry and intelligence in the prose is enough to propel you forward despite the horrors you have to endure on page. 

I wish the book was comprised mostly of Andrew’s perspective rather than switching between his and a summary of Jay. I did, however, appreciate Tran’s chapters, as it humanized him and made him much more than just an object/victim. 

That being said, I’m not sure how to parse the descriptions of Asian men in this novel. While not excusing the racist remarks of the book’s characters, I did have to remind myself it was written in the 90s, and depicts the time period faithfully. The way Tran is described is undoubtedly fetishistic. That may be the point. EC treads a fine line that unfortunately holds it back from landing its otherwise graceful pirouette.

Not sure if I knew EC was splatterpunk before diving in, but I’m glad I waited until I was a little older and more versed in horror before reading it. Trigger warning for about everything imaginable and then some. Your mileage may vary to the extreme. If you feel like you can find beauty in near senseless chaos, and have the stomach for its graphic descriptions, you might enjoy Exquisite Corpse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, 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, Blood, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, Excrement, Medical content, and Outing

Minor: Eating disorder, Vomit, and Police brutality

l_prelas's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia and Racial slurs

hfrancesh's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Stalking

Minor: Cancer