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Why did I give it another chance? I still feel the same way! I should’ve left it on the DNF shelf…
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Murder, War
I struggled with the first two thirds of this book, which felt like a protracted setting up of the world, characters, and backstory. I found the text impenetrable, the pace frenetic, and the storyline uneven. The second-person perspective placed me at a distance from the text, and this was made doubly alienating by what an unpleasant character the protagonist is. This perspective also made it harder for me to engage with the unfamiliar concepts and language used in the book, as I felt like my brain was already exhausted from filtering the meaning through a perspective filter.
This changed when I got to the final third of the book. I'm not sure if it just took me that long to get into the rhythm of it, or if the pacing and action substantially changed, but all of the elements came together for me and propelled me towards the conclusion. Was the last third of the book satisfying enough to make up for how much I struggled with the beginning? On balance? Just.
Other themes/aspects that came up for me when I read it:
- ethics of conflict photojournalism
- war and power
- mortality/the afterlife
- homophobia (both homosexuality and homophobia are portrayed pretty negatively in the book and the author also appears to be straight. For me this makes it a homophobic commentary on homophobia?)
- female characters (they are... Not well written)
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, War
Moderate: Drug use, Torture, Car accident
Minor: Alcoholism
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, Classism
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual harassment, War
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Mental illness, Slavery, Suicide, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Classism
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, War
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Classism
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Alcohol, Dysphoria