Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

2 reviews

s__'s review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

1.75

The way people talk about this book, you'd think it was the epitome of a crime-thriller. 

1. The only salvageable thing about this book is the explanation given for Rachel's
   memory loss
   . That was brilliant, but it wasn't enough to make up for the rest of the book being boring.
2. The characters in this were extremely unlikable, which is saying something, since I typically don't care about the "likability" of characters. How can you write a book in which your main character is that unlikable?! No, I didn't find her unlikable because of her
   alcohol addiction
   . She was unlikable because she was
   a stalker who kept groveling to her cheating ex
   (Yes, I would have said the same thing if she weren't a woman). How can you make your main character stupid, pathetic, obsessive, and lack self-respect????? I kept waiting for a character arc and it didn't come until the very last page of the book (if you even want to call it that!). The only true character arc was given to Megan/Jess. 
3. The book is written in a convoluted irritating way. I don't have a problem with the different POV's, but why do the chapters have to be divided based on the time of day as well?! You are not doing a good job telling a story if you have to rely on telling the reader what time of day it is even after giving them other details.
4. The book was littered with details that weren't important (No, they didn't help build the atmosphere). Most of the book just felt repetitive and as if the author is just trying to increase their word count.
5. You'll easily figure out the culprit before the halfway mark if you frequently read mysteries. The book lacks all the "thrill" of a thriller (which is especially important if your culprit is predictable), and there's no real shocking, big twist that makes it worth reading through all those pages.
6. I didn't appreciate the negative attitude the book had towards stay-at-home wives and moms.
7. I'm bored of thrillers having the most overdone motive and culprit, or at least do it in a clever and creative way. If you're looking for a thematically similar book, I'd suggest The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. It might not be a 5-star read (at least for me), but it's much more clever in the way it reveals the culprit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Child death, Alcoholism, Addiction, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Stalking, Murder, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexual content, and Physical abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Death of parent, Infertility, Vomit, Excrement, Pregnancy, and Racism

pabi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Child death, and Car accident