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octobermontoya's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I, probably like many, came to You've Lost Alot of Blood after reading LaRocca's Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. It's really hard for another book to live up to THGWSWLS's reputation and just the experience of reading it for the first time - so it seems unfair to measure this one against that one. You've Lost Alot of Blood is doing a lot - it's almost like 3 books in one; poetry, a novella, and a screen play type thing (script?). Not as grotesque, shocking, and cinematic as THGWSWLS but still experimental, surprising, and unsettling.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Pedophilia, Cancer, Grief, Violence, Child death, Torture, Body horror, and Abandonment
r_o_s_e's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Abandonment, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Alcohol, Vomit, Pedophilia, and Death of parent
cutelilcryptid's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
2.0
First, I want to say that I was SO READY to like this book. I picked it up in a bookstore with no context (I haven't read Larocca's previous work and knew little about it, despite the TikTok hype). I read the Introduction and thought that reading the collected writings of a fictional murderer would be AWESOME. Even though I knew it was fiction, I bought into the concept entirely and I was HYPED to read it.
...and that's where the excitement stopped. I'm not going to whine about content. Shoving toothpicks in people's ears? Daydreaming about how you'd kill your boyfriend? Masturbating on cancer patients? Cyborg cunnilingus? Fine, whatever. I signed up for weird shit when I chose to read a book in this genre. The actual reasons for my discontent are outlined below.
1. Have I mentioned that I love the concept of this book? The concept is that this collection of dialogue, poetry, and novella chapters were written by a serial killer, Martyr Black, and has been published in order to "shed light" on his crimes, victims, and possibly give hints to where he's disappeared to. I was 100% ready to take a highlighter to this book and make a whole ass conspiracy theory pinboard trying to connect the dots and piece together everything he did, where he disappeared to, and why he left. There's this tendency with writing, especially with poetry, to try to conflate the narrative voice with the voice of the writer themselves and view all poetry as autobiographical (*cough*Sylvia Plath*cough*), and I thought this book was going to provide some really interesting commentary on that idea. Which leads to my next point:
2. The ending "plot twist" totally fumbled the entire concept for the book (I use "plot twist" in the loosest sense, this book has no real plot beyond what I already stated). At the end of the book you find out that MARTYR BLACK PLAGIARIZED EVERYTHING FROM HIS VICTIMS. With the exception of the dialogues recorded on his phone, the poems and the ENTIRE NOVELLA were stolen from people he murdered. So any REAL attempts to piece the mystery of Martyr Black together through his writing is an utter fucking waste because HE DIDN'T WRITE IT. While this might provide interesting commentary on the "haha this is why you shouldn't treat people's writing as autobiographical" idea I mentioned earlier, the real reason I hate it is because it effectively shirks all responsibility for the established concept.
Remember how I said I was ready to take a highlighter to this and go crazy connecting dots trying to figure out who Martyr is and why he did what he did? The ending renders that effectively impossible, because it's not actually written by Martyr. As a reader, I felt this was a cheap and lazy ploy. It would be much more difficult, after all, to craft a self-contained anthology that, bit by bit, reveals more and more about the writer and how his dark obsessions lead to hideous acts. Instead we get "hee hoo the whole thing was stolen anyway". It's the equivalent of getting to the end of the book and the main character wakes up in bed and says "Wow, what a strange dream". I was pissed.
ONE MAJOR PROBLEM with this ending: if this is an anthology of "stolen" poetry, there are still way too many thematic and stylistic connections between different works. One of the poems mentions "Holy Eucharist" and there's a later poems is titled "Eucharist". The same poem is also titled "I Search for You Until My Lungs Sprout Metal" and the ENTIRE NOVELLA is about people being infested by machines. These are just a few examples I can think of off hand and I'm sure there's plenty more. There also just seems to be little effort put into differentiating the works from one another stylistically (you know, the way they would be if all written by different people). Like, the book isn't even properly selling the "this was all plagiarism" concept that well. It's infuriating.
3. Purely as prose, the writing itself is quite good. Larocca's use of language is exquisite and masterful--to say anything less because I didn't like the end of the book would be discrediting him. The poetry is think is a little less inspired--it just seems like regular prose from anywhere else in the book with some line breaks tossed in. Good poetry is not just prose with line breaks, and I will die on that hill.
...and that's where the excitement stopped. I'm not going to whine about content. Shoving toothpicks in people's ears? Daydreaming about how you'd kill your boyfriend? Masturbating on cancer patients? Cyborg cunnilingus? Fine, whatever. I signed up for weird shit when I chose to read a book in this genre. The actual reasons for my discontent are outlined below.
1. Have I mentioned that I love the concept of this book? The concept is that this collection of dialogue, poetry, and novella chapters were written by a serial killer, Martyr Black, and has been published in order to "shed light" on his crimes, victims, and possibly give hints to where he's disappeared to. I was 100% ready to take a highlighter to this book and make a whole ass conspiracy theory pinboard trying to connect the dots and piece together everything he did, where he disappeared to, and why he left. There's this tendency with writing, especially with poetry, to try to conflate the narrative voice with the voice of the writer themselves and view all poetry as autobiographical (*cough*Sylvia Plath*cough*), and I thought this book was going to provide some really interesting commentary on that idea. Which leads to my next point:
2. The ending "plot twist" totally fumbled the entire concept for the book (I use "plot twist" in the loosest sense, this book has no real plot beyond what I already stated). At the end of the book you find out that
Remember how I said I was ready to take a highlighter to this and go crazy connecting dots trying to figure out who Martyr is and why he did what he did? The ending renders that effectively impossible, because it's not actually written by Martyr. As a reader, I felt this was a cheap and lazy ploy. It would be much more difficult, after all, to craft a self-contained anthology that, bit by bit, reveals more and more about the writer and how his dark obsessions lead to hideous acts. Instead we get "hee hoo the whole thing was stolen anyway". It's the equivalent of getting to the end of the book and the main character wakes up in bed and says "Wow, what a strange dream". I was pissed.
ONE MAJOR PROBLEM with this ending: if this is an anthology of "stolen" poetry, there are still way too many thematic and stylistic connections between different works. One of the poems mentions "Holy Eucharist" and there's a later poems is titled "Eucharist". The same poem is also titled "I Search for You Until My Lungs Sprout Metal" and the ENTIRE NOVELLA is about people being infested by machines. These are just a few examples I can think of off hand and I'm sure there's plenty more. There also just seems to be little effort put into differentiating the works from one another stylistically (you know, the way they would be if all written by different people). Like, the book isn't even properly selling the "this was all plagiarism" concept that well. It's infuriating.
3. Purely as prose, the writing itself is quite good. Larocca's use of language is exquisite and masterful--to say anything less because I didn't like the end of the book would be discrediting him. The poetry is think is a little less inspired--it just seems like regular prose from anywhere else in the book with some line breaks tossed in. Good poetry is not just prose with line breaks, and I will die on that hill.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Violence
I tried adding as many trigger warnings as I could remember, but honestly probably missed some. (Also idk how to tag some, like the whole "consenting to sexual activity until finding out she's a cyborg" deal.) It's basically purposely written to be disturbing and fulfills no other purpose.kkalicky94's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body horror, Cancer, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Pedophilia
jackalopecore's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Abandonment, Pedophilia, and Vomit
literary__mary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
This is a book I’ll think about for a very long time
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Suicide, and Vomit
howlinglibraries's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I didn't kill him because I wanted to. That would have been too easy.
When Eric posted a surprise announcement for this novella's release earlier this week, I was absolutely beside myself. There are some authors in this world whose work I enjoy so deeply and am held so captive by, that each and every new piece of fiction feels like something I need to get my hands on right away. I ordered a copy within mere seconds of seeing the announcement, but was lucky enough to be allowed to read the ebook while I waited for the shipment, and I'm so grateful for that, because I think I would have been counting down the hours and days until it arrived!
Now that I've experienced this bizarre little treat, I don't even know how to possibly describe You've Lost a Lot of Blood without spoiling it. There's a very good reason the synopsis for this story is so brief and vague: you need to go into it without knowing what to expect. In fact, even if I did tell you what to expect, spoilers and guts and all, I'm still not sure anyone could be fully prepared for the sheer unraveling chaos within these pages.
All I know is that, yet again, I've been reminded of why Eric's books hold such a special place in my heart. Dark and entrancing, their works always leave me reeling to process what I've just read in the best possible "what the hell just happened" way, and as always, I'll be counting down to their next release.
✨ Representation: multiple queer characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Murder, Death, Child death, and Body horror
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, Cancer, and Pedophilia
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