Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin

6 reviews

beltari's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Trafficking, and Slavery

Minor: Child abuse and Adult/minor relationship

bailey_the_bookworm's review

dark emotional 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? No

4.5

This book broke my brain. I read it in a single sitting—I could not put it down once I started it. It’s disturbing, upsetting, fascinating, thought-provoking. I’m going to have nightmares for weeks 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, and Toxic friendship

whimsicalish's review

sad tense medium-paced

4.0

I did enjoy this book, perhaps not as much as Samanta's Fever Dream. It was an eerie and extremely creepy premise. It left me worried for the characters more than horror books have attempted.

I only wish it wasn't so depressing. 

Every character had hope or humility ripped from them.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Minor: Toxic relationship and Child abuse

savvylit's review against another edition

dark reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Each chapter of Little Eyes features a perspective of either a kentuki keeper or dweller. What follows is possibly the best fictional take on human nature on the Internet. Kentukis serve as the perfect symbol for fully-online parasocial relationships. The concept of a kentuki seems exaggeratedly far-fetched at first -- who would want to let an anonymous stranger into their home in the form of a moving camera? However, how different is that from extremely online folks who chronicle most of their days for viewers? I'd say not very. Kentukis are the perfect vessel for Schweblin to explore socializing in the digital age and all of its motivations and consequences. Distilled to its essence, Little Eyes is an expertly crafted meditation on loneliness, voyeurism, cruelty, and projection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Death, Violence, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Kidnapping

allyjshand's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The concept behind the novel is brilliant. I was so intrigued by kentukis and their depicted global popularity. Whilst some argue that kentukis are unrealistic, I would disagree. Given the rate at which we have absorbed technologies into our homes that utilise voice recognition and cameras, I'd argue that the us machines like kentukis is not unlikely. The whole novel was reminiscent of the dystopian TV show Black Mirror which, like Little Eyes, uses futuristic technologies to reflect human nature. To top it off, the writing was extremely fluid and engaging - making it easy to fall into Schweblin's world. However, I found the novel quite dark and graphic at times (although, this is a matter of reader preference). Also, whilst the use of multiple perspectives was seamless, I felt that less POVs could have been included to allow for the remaining narratives to be developed more. Regardless, Little Eyes is a though-provoking novel that will definitely stay with me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

valen_chialvo's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Sexual content

Moderate: Antisemitism, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse