Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Blood Meridian; or, The Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy

61 reviews

gilnean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Kidnapping

Minor: Suicide, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

bensonblues's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child abuse

smokeylives's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

charlottesaville's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and War

qstew's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Mental illness, and Kidnapping

biknergill's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I remember this book astounding me in college and making me want to read McCarthy even more. On a full read on my own time in 2024, I’m now struck by the violence and would never call it a “fun” read. Still in awe of McCarthy’s prose. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Violence

salmonite's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

deanrossss's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Blood, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

redmarten83's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War

malignantmoon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

An incredibly bleak and gruesome story, one that would have been impossible for me to finish if not for McCarthy's wonderful prose. Even with the great writing, it's a challenging read. The violence is so constant and explicit, yet written so casually you only take it what's happened after a few moments or even with a reread of the scene. The Kid, the main character, disappears into the background, and the supporting cast are some of the worst examples of men in storytelling. Very little happens in the book, it's not driven by characters or plot, simply by a cycle of violence.  

Even so, there were so many lines of dialogue I found beautiful, that made me sit and reflect on humanity and love and purpose. There are moments of mercy in this story, and moments of loyalty to brothers, even though no one is ever rewarded for this behaviour. Tobin's dedication to keeping the Kid away from the Judge, a consistent and selfless act, had me rooting for him in vain. The Kid's rejection of the Judge (who could possibly be satan himself), and his worship of war, is a brave act, a rejection of the American expansion into the West, though we know it to be futile.

I think it's very fair to not want to read/finish the book due to the darkness of it, I fault no one for this, at times, I felt the same. While it seems gratuitous, McCarthy knows what he is doing, very clearly so, by choosing one scene in the novel that he locks the readers out of. We do not know what happens, we get no descriptions and are only told by others that "it's bad in there". It's by far one of the most disturbing and haunting parts of the novel. 

Would I recommend this book? no <3 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism and Child death