Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

21 reviews

criticalbooks's review

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Torture

emzhay's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

the girls that get it, get and the girls that don’t, don’t 

I absolutely loved this book. I liked the moodiness, the meandering story, the characters, the imagery, and the house itself. It reminded me of my own college experience, despite some major differing aspects of course. After reading the author’s interview, I think that I was exactly the type of reader this was written for/about. 

I often see this marketed as a dark academia thriller, but to me it was more an atmospheric gothic literary novel. It explores ideas, relationships and the self through its plot rather than using those elements to support the plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Confinement

Moderate: Death and Sexual content

klubbgodis's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Minor: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Grief, Death, and Animal death

penofpossibilities's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, and Confinement

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Kidnapping, Death, and Sexual violence

kylieqrada's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I'm in the minority that loved this book and it makes me so happy!!!!! Honestly it reminded me alot of The Magicians by Lev Grossman, but a little less whimsical, and replace the magic with science. But that dark, kinda ethereal, am I high or what is going on right now kind of vibe was definitely the same in both books. And the ending, while very abrupt, fit the overall story arc to a t. And the mental illness rep was everything, and of a flavor I haven't seen before. Very gritty and real. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

bi_n_large's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Suicide

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

rosita's review

dark reflective slow-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

4.5

As soon as I started reading, I was trapped in Catherine House, and it only got better. If you are up for a dark, setting-driven story with casual queer and poc representation, and a sprinkle of science fiction, can't recommend it enough.
It doesnt really have a plot, but i loved that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Drug use, and Vomit

Moderate: Grief, Medical content, and Mental illness

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Suicide

thelibraryofalexandra's review

dark mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

coolmombeck's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I can understand why many seem to dislike this book because it's not for everyone. The writing does seem disjointed, and the characters can seem unlikable. I see it as Ines is also disjointed and doesn't seem to be able to like or forgive herself for past mistakes. She believes that hiding at Catherine House and her addiction to sex will heal and help her forget her past. While, at times, the book seemed to drag, it was well written and kept me interested. I would read another book from Elisabeth Thomas, as I enjoyed this one quite a bit. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Animal death, Death, and Sexual content

maiagaia's review

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"When did I realize that Catherine would never let me go?"

TL;DR Read this book if you want an atmospheric dark academia mystery with some really horrifying and creepy elements that includes beautifully realized and complex characters. Don't read this if you have to agree with/love your protagonist or if you are looking for something with a fast-moving plot.

Now onto some more in-depth thoughts.

Wow. Where to begin. This is a stunning book.

The most amazing accomplishment was the atmosphere Elisabeth Thomas was able to craft here. This book is gorgeously written without being overwrought. Others have criticized it by saying nothing happens, that there is no plot, and I am honestly confused by those assertions. No, this is not a thriller. It's not action-packed or filled with page after page of jump scares. Instead, it is a spiral of dread that leads to a bone-chilling but quiet climax.

The characters, particularly the protagonist Ines, have so much depth. I loved each and every one of them. Ines has been criticized for being unlikeable, but I don't see that. No, she doesn't always make the "right" decisions, and yes, she does some bad things, but she is a fully realized human. I ached for her situation. It's very clear that she is suffering with some sort of cocktail of depression and trauma for basically the entire novel and that informs her actions (and more often, her inaction.) Without getting into too much detail, her relationship with Baby in particular absolutely broke my heart, and that only happened because Elisabeth Thomas made both of those characters feel like real people to me, so I couldn't help but care about them. (Side note: someone else said Ines seemed more interested in sleeping with every boy in the school than with anything else, and I take deep offense to that. She was more interested in sleeping with every PERSON in the school than with anything else. Ines is a bisexual icon. You can't change my mind.)

"I used to believe the house was haunted. Really, it was the other way around; the house haunted me."

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Grief

Minor: Suicide, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

The protagonist suffers from depression throughout, and though it is never named as such, if you have been depressed, being inside her head could lead to a spiral depending on your tolerance level.