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xwritingstoriesx's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Cannibalism
jdf1027's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Rape, Death, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Car accident, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Violence, Murder, Cancer, Gore, and Terminal illness
Minor: Antisemitism
savvylit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Summers is a modern master of metaphor and simile. There were so many occasions while reading in which I had to stop to marvel over an evocative turn of phrase. Here are just a few of my favorite examples:
"Then, he slid off his chair, smooth as a pat of butter oozing from a pile of hot flapjacks."
"As I stepped out into the gimlet dawn, sunlight was beginning to slip like white lies between the skyscrapers."
"Casimir wandering dazed as a startled possum."
"Flashes of the evening popped like firecrackers, while shards of conversation with Wasserman lacerated me."
Beyond Summers' delightful writing style, this book had many other strengths with which to cleanse the reader's palate between what were truly appalling descriptions of homicide and cannibalism. The scenery, setting, and characters of this book were so exaggerated as to become parodies. And in many ways, this book is satirical. A Certain Hunger is a satire of so much but especially of foodie culture, of obsession with serial killers, of societal pressures on womanhood, and of big agriculture. Ultimately I loved it all.
In creating Dorothy Daniels, Chelsea G. Summers has given the world an unforgettable, charming, and likable serial killer to join the ranks of Hannibal Lecter and Patrick Bateman. This book is certainly not for the faint-hearted, though, so avoid it if body horror and gore are too much for you to digest.
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Gore, Blood, Death, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Animal death, Sexual violence, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Rape
boglord's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Car accident, Drug abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Infidelity, Alcohol, Animal death, Classism, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Antisemitism, Cancer, Body shaming, Incest, and Adult/minor relationship
lycheejelly's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Cancer, Alcoholism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death of parent, Rape, Infidelity, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Blood, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Animal death, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, Medical content, Stalking, Outing, Body shaming, Classism, Incest, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
l4r4777's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Rape, and Sexual assault
kay_jax's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
the authors’ writing isn’t awful but i would say some of it was overwritten and too descriptive (like too many adjectives and metaphors strung together). another structural issue was the drawn out storyline. i think the plot line was very confusing/ too out of order to where it dragged by the first third. this probably would’ve worked a lot better if it was a short story or novella.
i cant explain how unbelievably unlikable the narrator was in this. the first characteristic i couldn’t endure was her pretentious fetishism of italian men and culture. her lust for italians was bordering offensive and intolerable, i understand having an affinity for a type of person but i thought the description of the narrators’ desire for italian men was disturbing.
(also i feel like the narrator is an elitists but my brainpower is too low to get into that)
the second characteristic i felt was unnecessary was her sex drive. i felt like i was actually reading a story about a nymphomaniac instead of a psychopath. the two aren’t related so why did i need a whole novel basically recounting her decades long trysts?
i’m not a prude but damn, i really wasn’t trying to get a full tour of this fictional characters vagina.
honestly i feel like i wasted my time reading this. it wasn’t awful but also wasn’t good…unremarkable, i guess?
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Violence, Death of parent, Cancer, and Confinement
natashasf1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cannibalism, Car accident, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence
katesigrist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Cannibalism, Gore, Death, Cancer, and Death of parent
Moderate: Mental illness and Confinement
Minor: Ableism and Fatphobia