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Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness by Claire Vaye Watkins
3 reviews
ashlurtis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Oof, this was rough. I still don't know why I didn't DNF this book honestly. For some reason, I thought I really liked this author, but now I'm second guessing how I felt after reading "Gold Fame Citrus." Possibly and probably, the same as I felt while reading this. The writing is like... good, sharp, smart, but the story is BLAH.
I read this for a "semi-autobiographical" challenge at my local library and was constantly feeling weirded out about how the author and main character share the same name among other characteristics. Also, every character in this story, including and especially the main character, is super icky. There might be an appropriate audience for this book, and I am definitely not it, nor can I conceive of who would be.
The narrative switches between the main character's very unreliable point of view and these random letters from a character I wasn't even sure the identity of until near the end of the book. I am assuming there are a lot of heavy and raw emotions that went into the writing of this book and that for some people it might be very cathartic to read, but not for this young-ish Midwestern mom who loves her family...
The content is just as icky as the characters and I kind of felt like I needed to take a really hot shower to wash this book off me. Probably will not be seeking out more work from this author.
I read this for a "semi-autobiographical" challenge at my local library and was constantly feeling weirded out about how the author and main character share the same name among other characteristics. Also, every character in this story, including and especially the main character, is super icky. There might be an appropriate audience for this book, and I am definitely not it, nor can I conceive of who would be.
The narrative switches between the main character's very unreliable point of view and these random letters from a character I wasn't even sure the identity of until near the end of the book. I am assuming there are a lot of heavy and raw emotions that went into the writing of this book and that for some people it might be very cathartic to read, but not for this young-ish Midwestern mom who loves her family...
The content is just as icky as the characters and I kind of felt like I needed to take a really hot shower to wash this book off me. Probably will not be seeking out more work from this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual violence, and Drug use
Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent
Minor: Abortion
bookishcori's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Grief, Addiction, and Death of parent
Minor: Abortion, Sexual assault, and Rape
teresareads's review against another edition
I loved the weirdness of the beginning, but it gets tedious fast. The Manson section is hard to follow, and I got bogged down there. And, although I can appreciate the value of messy women telling their stories, these stories seem to be dominating literary fiction today, and I'm kind of bored with them. And the meandering nature of this narrative doesn't help much. There's nothing here, aside from the title, to keep me engaged.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse
Moderate: Abandonment and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide
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