Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride

23 reviews

hannah_bookworm's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Grief, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Vomit

daretoread's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Bullying, Sexual violence, Death, and Infidelity

pessimistically_optimist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cancer, Gaslighting, and Grief

kthnlb's review

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Sexual content, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Abandonment, Vomit, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Death of parent, Death, Cancer, and Blood

harleyburch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

How would they ever understand my life is more than cider? Complex than that. Fuller deeper richer. Irritation that. Something. Not as good as me in the back of my head.

When I read that this was an experimental novel, I didn't expect it to be quite so jarring. At first, I saw this as a negative; I felt as if the style was drawing me away from the characters rather than into their lives. It wasn't until the end of the novel that the grammar-less stream-of-consciousness style started to speak to me. It was this disjointed use of the language that put me at such unease. Strikingly, this book is bleak - very bleak. Our nameless narrator is subjected to terrible events that become relentless as she slowly but surely tugs us into her head. I had no idea how a book written like this without much plot could end but the ending - while still very bleak - was impressive and memorable. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone (definitely pay attention to the content warnings) but it was a challenged yet insightful experience. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, Suicide, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Violence

chiara_dose's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Body horror, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

casbee's review

this book is impossible to read with broken grammar, dreadful punctuation, and unclear wording and structure (and not in an edgy cute way). 
the plot is uninteresting, the characters are insufferable, the content is disgusting, and the lack of quotation marks makes it all the worse. 
personally i don't think you can throw trauma and sex and no quotation marks together and call it a masterpiece. 
i cant remember anything from the story and nothing about the book was good. 
dreadful experience; never again; no. i wouldnt recommend this book to my worst enemy. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Medical trauma, Violence, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Bullying

Minor: Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Infidelity

bumble_abi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

Difficult in all senses of the word. The stream of consciousness is very immediate but the broken sentences mean you have to invest all your attention to keep up, and investing all your attention makes the whole thing hurt more. Raw and violent and horribly sad, I'm not sure I gained much from sitting beside this particular pain, because too much of it is close enough to my life experiences that it didn't really broaden my mind so much as force me into my own memories. I can see how this might be considered a work of genius, and I think it's a valuable read for anybody who can situate themselves further away from the narrator, but I was left feeling scratched and hollow in a way that felt a little personal.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Vomit, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Excrement and Ableism

the book ends with an implied drowning

miles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Ableism and Excrement

tabitha_isabelle's review

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Vomit