Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman

8 reviews

bookishtraveler's review

I love Gaiman but this collection of short stories just kept getting darker and darker.  I stopped at the one with child sexual violence and abuse.  I might pick it up again but it came on the heels of dnfing "Earthlings" for the same reason.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pedophilia, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Child abuse, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Body horror, Self harm, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Drug use, Slavery, and Trafficking

bi_n_large's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Pedophilia

Minor: Sexual content

naomi_k's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, Gore, Murder, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Sexual content

Minor: Cannibalism, Incest, Blood, Child death, Torture, Pedophilia, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse

rocketdea's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

Inquietante, fascinante e incómodo. No es mi estilo en absoluto y, a pesar de ello, no podría parar de leer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Child abuse, Suicide, and Pedophilia

dannilmp's review against another edition

adventurous dark relaxing tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

I don't typically read anthologies and even when I do its only a select few stories that stay with me. Such was the case with Fragile Things. Neil Gaiman's story writing capabilities are impecable and even though there were some short stories that I didn't really enjoy, I could still appreciate the craft work. It's brilliant that these stories are so far removed from one another but they contain so much depth in such short prose.

My favourite story from this collection is the one where the months of the year are telling stories to one another. There was just something so other worldy about it that it just captivated me. I loved the way it wasn't entirely clear cut at the end and there was some thought to be had about the ending itself. The problem with Susan was another good one, mainly because I have always loved the Narnia series and I think Neil's short story was a fitting addition to the tale. 

There were a few poems in this collection and while I did read through them, I don't think I fully appreciated them as poetry isn't really my thing. But they did serve as a nice little break between longer pieces. I would recommend this book if you prefer reading in short bursts as you can take the time to put the book down and digest whatever hellish concept you've just finished reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Pedophilia

jessthanthree's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Sexual violence

aguattery's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

This book is a good mix of hits and misses. Some of the stories felt like shells of a story that needed to be fleshed out more. Some of the stories were too scary for my taste, some of them I just didn't get (maybe they were too deep or too subtle?). Oppositely, some of them were fantastic. I probably wouldn't read the whole thing again but I would definitely read select stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Child death and Sexual content

Minor: Abortion

miriam_mal's review against another edition

His writing is fairly graphic and grim, and I personally found “the problem with Susan” to be particularly uncalled for (as someone who loves narnia, I did not need to read that take on the lion and the witch).  He writes so much about sex, lust, grief, as well as monsters and death and even cannibalism at one point. It’s not a comfortable read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Cannibalism