Reviews with content warning for Animal death - I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

160 reviews

brotestantethic's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Such a mindfuck of a book. The first 40 pages took me several days, but I flew through the last 100 in a night. Confusing as all hell. Really wild.

The beginning is so boring with all the talking, but I understand now that it’s to lead into Jake’s psyche. Of course, he comes off as stroking his big, fat ego.

I’m glad I stuck it through, but I had to look up what it meant. Will be attempting a reread.

Content Warnings

bookgirlsummer's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

karmapen's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This was so scary.

Content Warnings

vikkisgrotto's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

maryp20's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This book is definitely slow moving but honestly a mind fuck. I really enjoyed the writing style in the context of the story.

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literatureleaf's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

Age: 15+

Reading time: 3 days

Difficulty level: 1.5/5

Rating: 4.5/5

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid follows our nameless protagonist and her boyfriend Jake as they embark on a road trip to have dinner with Jake’s parents. Plagued by thoughts of ending the relationship, she spends the car ride mulling over how it got to this point, and wondering if this is how it was always meant to be.

Meeting his family does not quell her hesitations, and the journey back home begins in a very similar manner to the trip there. However, after an unplanned stop at the local high school Jake attended as a teenager, things begin to go downhill in a way that neither the characters themselves nor the reader could have predicted.

A genuine literary thriller, I’m Thinking of Ending Things intricately weaves suspense and in-depth, authentic character study together in a way that has never been done before. Without holding anything back, Reid puts a new spin on the concept of a plot twist and utilizes it in a way that can be described as nothing short of poetic.

Atmosphere reigns supreme in this novel. Built up slowly and steadily, through scarce but vivid depictions of a desolate, snowy setting brimming with despair, and an unfiltered look at the flitting, unfettered thoughts and observations of the main protagonist, consistent, permeating feelings of dread and unease slowly creep up as the plot advances.

Written in a deceptively simple, choppy manner, I’m Thinking of Ending Things will sneak up and grab you in a chokehold when you’re least expecting it. As the tale unfolds, and little glimpses of something that is deeply wrong just beneath the surface of what appears to be a straightforward, even somewhat boring, trip between a couple on the brink of a breakup emerge, the reader is left deeply unsettled, wondering what it is that they are missing.

Flaws are few and far between, but so much of the story takes place within the protagonist’s mind, that at times it can be a bit stifling. Inner monologues fill much of the story, only broken up intermittently with the stark, vivid imagery mentioned earlier, and although they are incredibly well written, feeling stuck in the narrator’s head is not an uncommon feeling.

Invoking feelings of longing, despair, unease, and grief for the characters, I’m Thinking of Ending Things reads and feels like a beautiful punch to the gut that will leave you simultaneously longing for more and begging for it to be over. A devastatingly believable account of a life filled with pain, loneliness, and resentment, I’m Thinking of Ending Things will live on in the minds of those who have read it for months after the final page is read and the book itself is closed.

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lalalauren20's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

This book….I’ve been thinking about the review I want to write…It’s not a bad book. I think I thought I had figured out the ending and was waiting for some confirmation in the last few chapters when I VERY suddenly found myself at the end of the book confused. I’m not alone(and you are not alone) in my confusion and deciphering of this book, it took a few threads to form what I think was going on in this book. I was interested while reading this book and I think my brain is still thinking about it because you don’t understand until the last page.

I think this is my first book where I’ve read with an unreliable narrator, but the book makes it so you don’t know until the very last page. Lots of people are saying that you need to read this book twice, and in fact in the last few sentences it tells the reader to read this again with the discovered information in mind. After finishing this book though, and I think it is reflected in my star rank, that I really don’t want to read this again. I think that’s what’s got me so hung up is that the writing is very good, but the story was not re-readable.

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ciarramist's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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angryveg's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The ending left me feeling weird and wanting to reread immediately and go back to certain pages. Definitely leaves you feeling like you need to reflect

Content Warnings

nedenz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious

Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I'm really not sure how I feel about this book but I will give it a 4 star (for now) bcs I can't stop thinking about it in a good way. Most of this is in massive spoiler territory so I'm just gonna hide it.

It's most definitely a really cool idea, and I like how at the end it tells you to start from the end and circle back. It was certainly cool to read the first page again with this whole new context. I'm a bit iffy on some of the things in the middle, like the Caller and the symbolism of some of the things in his parent's house. Like the person who followed her to the bathroom and moved the slippers around? I'm also confused about the worker at Dairy Queen and the one who was warning her about how she's scared for her. There were some things that I appreciate being tied in but like, looking back I'm mostly confused. Overall I'm still giving it a 4 star bcs I was the tension was great, the writing was captivating, and I think the execution of the story was pretty spectacular.

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