Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock

21 reviews

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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outofthepinksky's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

3.5

Very fast-paced and entertaining.  However, the story was deeply flawed for me by the sheer amount of homophobia and fatphobia.

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octopusarms's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0


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mxpringle's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

One day maybe I will find a horror novel that doesn't include queer people and women without demonizing and/or victimizing them. I thought it was solidly enjoyable in terms of the writing, but I feel like a lot of the plot and topics explored are tropes that have been overdone, such as Southern small town murders, hitchhikers, etc., though these were intermingled with a few really cool new ideas. 

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rojo25's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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reggiethebird's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I cannot imagine someone reading this book and thinking "You know what, I want people to experience all this on the big screen." This is one of the most grimy books I've ever read, like "I want to take a shower after reading it" type filthy. I'm not sure there is a good person in all 261 pages who isn't either raped, killed, raped then killed, or killed then raped. This is a book where a bunch of bad people do bad things to other bad people for a whole 3 or 4 intersecting plot arcs. If that's the type of story you like, go for it. If you have any triggers at all, probably skip this one. It's a very ugly tale.

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bumblebroxbeeblebooks's review

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My favorite book of September 2022. Everything about this book was so messed up and wrong but it was so entertaining to read. I haven't listened to an audiobook or read something this fast in a long time. I'm really excited to watch this movie on Netflix.

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mxyfrzn's review

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dark 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? Yes

3.5

I've heard this called rural noir and I think that fits. It's incredibly well crafted, and the kind of horror that's that drudging, sick to your stomach kind of dread. Can't say I enjoyed myself, but if you're looking for something that feels like a mix of No Country for Old Men and Season 1 of True Detective, this is a great pick.

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augustinedreams's review against another edition

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This book isn't dark, tense, or mysterious; it's slow and boring. And leaves me with a feeling of disgust; why is every woman in this book called slurs & participates in prostitution? There is no reason for it. This book has one to many problematic trigger warning to be redeemable.

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bidufta's review

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

3.5


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