Scan barcode
lowercase_em's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Medical content, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Abortion
adep02's review
4.25
I would totally recommend this book, but read at your own caution because it is pretty upsetting and uncomfortable.
Graphic: Body horror
eloisehindes's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death and Body horror
savvylit's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wilhelm is a Grade A Monster from page one. After Wilhelm manipulates his way into Luci's family as her primary caregiver, his pre-established and unchecked feelings of entitlement, racism, and misogyny become increasingly apparent. Wilhelm never takes Luci's family members seriously, believing them to be uneducated and brutish merely because of their status as Cuban immigrants. Even worse, he's truly convinced himself that Luci loves him even though he continues to have a complete disregard for her wishes. When she protests his advances, he thinks she's just being coy and flirtatious. Sadly, Luci is too ill and weak to assert her dislike of Wilhelm.
Wilhelm is absolutely horrible and one of the most terrifying antagonists I have ever encountered in fiction. (What makes him even more disturbing is the fact that he is based on a real person, Carl Tanzler). However, Wilhelm is not the only thing that's scary in this novel. Parry expertly creates not just one disturbing person but a multitude of horrors. There's the horror of anti-immigrant sentiment and the resulting lack of agency. There's the horror of your loved one's death becoming a spectacle. There are endlessly vivid and disgusting descriptions of a body in decay. Overall, steel yourself to be uncomfortable throughout this excellently crafted novel.
Graphic: Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abortion, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, Animal death, Racism, Violence, and Sexual violence
tam's review
4.0
Graphic: Death, Abortion, and Body horror
ellenigrace's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Medical trauma, Body horror, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Child death, Grief, Gore, and Abortion
Minor: War and Genocide
Additional content warning for necrophilia.rhbufton's review
- 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
Graphic: Medical content, Terminal illness, Sexism, Gore, Medical trauma, Racism, Body horror, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Abortion, Confinement, Grief, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, and Antisemitism
Minor: Animal death, Alcoholism, Child death, and War