Reviews tagging 'Grief'

A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride

34 reviews

hannahruth_bookworm's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

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

daretoread's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

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

pessimistically_optimist's review

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

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Content Warnings

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

kthnlb's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

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

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

frank_patrol's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

it took me 2 months to read this book, i had a reading slump half way through it, but it’s also quite difficult to read, not impossible and like you get the main point of each part but it may take a while to actually realise what’s going on 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Religious bigotry

hollieadaw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Vomit

abithoughtful'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.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Ableism and Excrement

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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Ableism and Excrement

amberinbookland's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma