Scan barcode
perplexed's review
1.5
Am not gonna lie. I don't get how people r a v e about this book? And call it a feminist masterpiece??? Like, I can sorta get the comparisons to American Psycho but at least AP was critiquing something, this book just felt like it didn't have a purpose other than girlboss gaslight gatekeep and I don't get it???
Also, sure, have a psycho main character but at least TRY and make them a wee bit engaging and not just a raging rude bitch
ALSO ???? bruh this book just screamed of someone being like "hey I want this word to be something better lemme just grab my thesaurus" and I h a t e that. Use big words sure, but when your sentences are filled with like 4 or 5 instances of that happening stop. Just stop. Put the thesaurus down and use words humans know.
Genuinely still don't understand how this book is feminist other than like yay main milf character kills and eats men??? and like ??? That's not feminism?? Right ??????
Also - last point I promise, how was a book about a cannibal food critic this dull??? Like that's already such a darkly comic theme ?? Please I just don't get how many 5* reviews this book gets p L e a s e
Also, sure, have a psycho main character but at least TRY and make them a wee bit engaging and not just a raging rude bitch
ALSO ???? bruh this book just screamed of someone being like "hey I want this word to be something better lemme just grab my thesaurus" and I h a t e that. Use big words sure, but when your sentences are filled with like 4 or 5 instances of that happening stop. Just stop. Put the thesaurus down and use words humans know.
Genuinely still don't understand how this book is feminist other than like
Also - last point I promise, how was a book about a cannibal food critic this dull??? Like that's already such a darkly comic theme ?? Please I just don't get how many 5* reviews this book gets p L e a s e
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Cannibalism
autumngk's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
2.75
I honestly don’t know what I was expecting from this book-cannibalism, sure, but the nonlinear format took me by surprise. Something about it felt too reliant on shock value and grotesque tropes, but after all it is a cannibal serial killer. I don’t know if I’m just beginning to be turned off by horror novels, but this one did the trick. There were really great sections, and I mean chapters at a time where the writing was absolutely beautiful and engaging. I wish we got to know more about Dorothy’s life as the prison librarian and how that began to effect her; I can’t tell if my reservations with this book are that if felt too short and heavy/reliant on the gore to tell its story or what! We get this really nice look into her life….. after she’s adjusted to prison life during their group when the arsonist is telling her story and some of the other women are talking and Dorothy reveals a possible change in her feelings about what she’s done/herself. It’s not worthy of a sequel, just a couple more chapters here and there. While what we’re left with is a complete picture, it felt like there were just some missed opportunities. So many offers were put up in the air by introducing her in the present as working in the library; especially given her relationship with Emma, it felt unfinished in a way. We know so much about her while she’s cannibalizing and murdering these men senselessly, but it feels pointless to still know her while she’s imprisoned and know so little about her in the present. She still has the same voice. She still speaks the same about humanity. What about her changed? if nothing did, why this story? Why now? Just to sell cannibal torture porn?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Classism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Forced institutionalization
elizajstocks's review
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you love true crime, food, sex, and feminism? Read it right now. Then go watch The Menu. Similar vibes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Cannibalism, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Death, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Sexual violence
cjcrawfish's review
challenging
dark
funny
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Car accident, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Violence, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
apersonfromflorida's review
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Cannibalism, and Gore
Minor: Toxic relationship
ephemeral_remi's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Torture, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Cursing, Grief, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Rape and Vomit
Minor: Animal death, Car accident, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Animal cruelty
sophafie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Rape
ennui_09's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
Where should I start? I am not a native English speaker, but I consider myself fluent or properly fluent in understanding texts and having conversations with people. This being said…I struggled to read some bits in the book because of the word choice. It was pretentious. I had to stop, put the book down and google the definition of the said word which took me out of the story and took away from the whole experience. I learned some new words from this, I will give it that. I don’t know if it’s because the author is or used to be a teacher or because she did it on purpose to make Dorothy seem extra pretentious. Either way, it made me curious to see what other people had to say and it made me feel better to see other people’s reviews (native English speakers) state the same feeling about the language used.
There was another thing that got annoying after a while and that is the enumerating (?) or repetition of something but said in different ways, put in different words to emphasize what the author wants to say. I understand doing this with a few comparisons to get your point across but it happened so so so often in the first couple of pages. It stopped towards the middle.
I think this book is perfect for someone who loves food, who understands and knows what the dishes Dorothy is speaking about are. Who is familiar with cooking techniques and who has knowledge about food. Dorothy names the foods by their names, most of the time it’s in Italian and then she goes on to explain what the food is, sometimes she doesn’t but often times I found myself a little lost? I am not blaming the book for this, I think the descriptions were well done but I am not one to speak since I’ve never had those foods in my life and I don’t know how accurate it was. To me, it was nicely described although it got a lot here and there. I got a little annoyed at her for complaining so much about the food in prison, which…is my fault. Of course, a food critic and someone who’s a gourmand would complain about it so much. I think I would too if I was in her place.
I was very hooked from the start then towards the middle it kind of dragged out a little, when we got to the story about Marco I was over the description about the cattle and the whole process. I was tempted to skip those few pages but I sucked it up. I just didn’t really care about the dude’s business, not gonna lie and it dragged out. There’s also an explicit description of a cow getting killed for meat in case you’re sensitive to stuff like that. I found the part about Alex interesting, same goes with Emma. I wish we saw more of Dorothy’s friendship with Emma. It was pretty interesting.
For some murders, I found it a bit weird how she got away with it. Are the cops lacking so much to not look more into it or am I missing something? I was a little skeptical about it.
I know this review sounds like I hated this book which makes no sense since I gave it a 3-star rating BUT I liked the take on female killers, and how society sees females fit for motherhood but not able of violence. I found some quotes I really liked that got me thinking about stuff. Oh, what I liked is that at times Dorothy is speaking to the reader and calls us out. I think this happens a lot these days, I mean people got so interested in true crime and read books on it or listen to podcasts. And I felt like she was calling out people like that. I liked that part. Not gonna lie, at some parts, I was in a way rooting for her? I am not justifying what she did but I guess reading about an unhinged woman can be a little empowering.
I liked reading about her family too although dysfunctional and not the healthiest. This is all I can think about for now but if you’re someone who loves food, loves something graphic, and read about unhinged women then I think this is for you.
Maybe I would have given it more if it wasn’t for the word choice which led to me taking forever to finish this book then just made me wanna be over although it got better towards the end.
There was another thing that got annoying after a while and that is the enumerating (?) or repetition of something but said in different ways, put in different words to emphasize what the author wants to say. I understand doing this with a few comparisons to get your point across but it happened so so so often in the first couple of pages. It stopped towards the middle.
I think this book is perfect for someone who loves food, who understands and knows what the dishes Dorothy is speaking about are. Who is familiar with cooking techniques and who has knowledge about food. Dorothy names the foods by their names, most of the time it’s in Italian and then she goes on to explain what the food is, sometimes she doesn’t but often times I found myself a little lost? I am not blaming the book for this, I think the descriptions were well done but I am not one to speak since I’ve never had those foods in my life and I don’t know how accurate it was. To me, it was nicely described although it got a lot here and there. I got a little annoyed at her for complaining so much about the food in prison, which…is my fault. Of course, a food critic and someone who’s a gourmand would complain about it so much. I think I would too if I was in her place.
I was very hooked from the start then towards the middle it kind of dragged out a little, when we got to the story about Marco I was over the description about the cattle and the whole process. I was tempted to skip those few pages but I sucked it up. I just didn’t really care about the dude’s business, not gonna lie and it dragged out. There’s also an explicit description of a cow getting killed for meat in case you’re sensitive to stuff like that. I found the part about Alex interesting, same goes with Emma. I wish we saw more of Dorothy’s friendship with Emma. It was pretty interesting.
For some murders, I found it a bit weird how she got away with it. Are the cops lacking so much to not look more into it or am I missing something? I was a little skeptical about it.
I know this review sounds like I hated this book which makes no sense since I gave it a 3-star rating BUT I liked the take on female killers, and how society sees females fit for motherhood but not able of violence. I found some quotes I really liked that got me thinking about stuff. Oh, what I liked is that at times Dorothy is speaking to the reader and calls us out. I think this happens a lot these days, I mean people got so interested in true crime and read books on it or listen to podcasts. And I felt like she was calling out people like that. I liked that part. Not gonna lie, at some parts, I was in a way rooting for her? I am not justifying what she did but I guess reading about an unhinged woman can be a little empowering.
I liked reading about her family too although dysfunctional and not the healthiest. This is all I can think about for now but if you’re someone who loves food, loves something graphic, and read about unhinged women then I think this is for you.
Maybe I would have given it more if it wasn’t for the word choice which led to me taking forever to finish this book then just made me wanna be over although it got better towards the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Rape
taviarz's review
challenging
dark
reflective
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
5.0
I think I’ll get something different from this book every time I read it as I get older
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Cannibalism, Gore, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Death, Car accident, and Cursing
Moderate: Alcohol, Stalking, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Antisemitism, Sexual assault, and Rape
lkocsis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
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
4.5
The prose of this book is extremely rich and indulgent. It’s a challenging read in terms of vocabulary and, equally, if you have a soft stomach. However, the story is really engaging and the writing style is of high quality.
Would recommend for anyone who likes Moshfegh and/or stories portraying dark, mentally unbalanced females and the nasty tricks they get into.
Would recommend for anyone who likes Moshfegh and/or stories portraying dark, mentally unbalanced females and the nasty tricks they get into.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, and Gore