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madarauchiha's review
1.0
โค๏ธ ๐งก ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐งก โค๏ธ
I mean this in the worst way: Gwendolin Kiste is the diet no sugar fat free version of Joyce Carol Oates. They both revel in fragile white woman victimhood. Though Oates far more so, and with thorough hypocracy to boot. I'm not familiar with Kiste also being hypocritical and shitty and writing fanfic about irl massacres. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in your own review. Liver me alone.
The author has very white cissexist upper class views of lesbianism/WLW love, and life in general. Don't expect much in ways of diversity. As far as I can tell there are no Black characters or Characters of Color. And honestly, I am glad. The way the characters are written, default cis abled and usually cisgender, I don't want to see Kiste try to portray a Black man or a woman of color. Leave us alone.
When not focusing on how victimized and fragile and useless white cishet girlwomen against [other white and cishet] men, Kiste's writings are decent. The prose is pretty and purple and flowery, but more delicate organic violets than harsh artificially dyed plastic bouquets, heavy with chemical scent straight from the hobby store. The plots are interesting and fair unique. I enjoyed most of them aside from Tower Princesses, which was a real study in white fragile woman victimhood.
The Five day Summer Camp story is yet another tired 'secret revolution' wherein the white mc [and hypothetically you, the reader] silently undermines the ambiguous dystopian government--who just so happens to borrow concentration camp and gas chamber / cremation incinerator aesthetics. Hm gee that seems familiar. I am goy [not Jewish] so I'm not the authority on antisemitism, obviously, but in this case I think there is tactlessness when it comes to using specific elements from real life concentration camps that Jewish people [and many other 'undesireables'] were genocided in.
The plot was already set in an alternate universe dystopia where SPOILER children were magically brainwashed via Mysterious Science. You can go ahead and utilize magic Science Corporeal Form Evaporate that fuels the evil bad Mysterious Science. Ultimately, the plot is abruptly resolved by the MC resolving to save other children the same way she saved her sister. SPOILERS
It's cute and heartwarming. Or would be if you haven't seen this a million times over in other media. I've mentioned this elsewhere but the problem with white authors writing dystopias and revolution is that they don't understand was radical and drastic changes to the white cishet dominating society needs to happen. They are part of this society, both in real life and in the fiction they create. They don't know how to alter either, not really. So stories like these, however short, alternative from reality, fictional, etc etc, fall flat. The status quo never changes. We get a build up, the conclusion, but never a climax.
Fortunately, most storyes are less than fifty pages, so it's a quick read. I finished it in 1.17 hours.
Faves. Skin Like Honey and Lace. The Man in the Ambry.
โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
โ Something Borrowed, Something Blue
medium vomit,
major pregnancy, animal cruelty, child death, medical content, medical abuse, body horror, infidelity
โ The Clawfoot Requiem
minor murder,
major suicide, blood, death, grief, mental illness, insects,
โ All the Red Apples Have Withered to Gray
minor rape, sexual assault, incest,
major child abuse?, minor
โ The Man in the Ambry
minor animal death, drugs hard drugs, pregnancy,
medium pregnancy,
โ Find Me, Mommy
medium medical content,
major grief, child death,
โ Audrey at Night
minor vomit,
major suicide, pregnancy,
โ The Five-Day Summer Camp
medium vomit,
major medical abuse, child abuse, gore,
โ Skin Like Honey and Lace
minor sexual content, suicide,
major blood, death, cannibalism, pregnancy, murder, toxic relationships, body horror,
โ By Now, I'll Probably Be Gone
major suicide, infidelity, death,
โ Through Earth and Sky
medium child abuse,
major domestic abuse,
โ The Tower Princesses
minor excrement, unsanitary, blood, violence,
medium incest, sexual content,
major suicide, child abuse, child death, sexual harassment, bullying, sexual assault, victim blaming, lesbophobia,
โ And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe
medium infidelity, murder,
major victim blaming,
โ The Lazarus Bride
minor sexual assault,
medium body horror, sexual content,
major fire, death,
I mean this in the worst way: Gwendolin Kiste is the diet no sugar fat free version of Joyce Carol Oates. They both revel in fragile white woman victimhood. Though Oates far more so, and with thorough hypocracy to boot. I'm not familiar with Kiste also being hypocritical and shitty and writing fanfic about irl massacres. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in your own review. Liver me alone.
The author has very white cissexist upper class views of lesbianism/WLW love, and life in general. Don't expect much in ways of diversity. As far as I can tell there are no Black characters or Characters of Color. And honestly, I am glad. The way the characters are written, default cis abled and usually cisgender, I don't want to see Kiste try to portray a Black man or a woman of color. Leave us alone.
When not focusing on how victimized and fragile and useless white cishet girlwomen against [other white and cishet] men, Kiste's writings are decent. The prose is pretty and purple and flowery, but more delicate organic violets than harsh artificially dyed plastic bouquets, heavy with chemical scent straight from the hobby store. The plots are interesting and fair unique. I enjoyed most of them aside from Tower Princesses, which was a real study in white fragile woman victimhood.
The Five day Summer Camp story is yet another tired 'secret revolution' wherein the white mc [and hypothetically you, the reader] silently undermines the ambiguous dystopian government--who just so happens to borrow concentration camp and gas chamber / cremation incinerator aesthetics. Hm gee that seems familiar. I am goy [not Jewish] so I'm not the authority on antisemitism, obviously, but in this case I think there is tactlessness when it comes to using specific elements from real life concentration camps that Jewish people [and many other 'undesireables'] were genocided in.
The plot was already set in an alternate universe dystopia where SPOILER children were magically brainwashed via Mysterious Science. You can go ahead and utilize magic Science Corporeal Form Evaporate that fuels the evil bad Mysterious Science. Ultimately, the plot is abruptly resolved by the MC resolving to save other children the same way she saved her sister. SPOILERS
It's cute and heartwarming. Or would be if you haven't seen this a million times over in other media. I've mentioned this elsewhere but the problem with white authors writing dystopias and revolution is that they don't understand was radical and drastic changes to the white cishet dominating society needs to happen. They are part of this society, both in real life and in the fiction they create. They don't know how to alter either, not really. So stories like these, however short, alternative from reality, fictional, etc etc, fall flat. The status quo never changes. We get a build up, the conclusion, but never a climax.
Fortunately, most storyes are less than fifty pages, so it's a quick read. I finished it in 1.17 hours.
Faves. Skin Like Honey and Lace. The Man in the Ambry.
โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
โ Something Borrowed, Something Blue
medium vomit,
major pregnancy, animal cruelty, child death, medical content, medical abuse, body horror, infidelity
โ The Clawfoot Requiem
minor murder,
major suicide, blood, death, grief, mental illness, insects,
โ All the Red Apples Have Withered to Gray
minor rape, sexual assault, incest,
major child abuse?, minor
โ The Man in the Ambry
minor animal death, drugs hard drugs, pregnancy,
medium pregnancy,
โ Find Me, Mommy
medium medical content,
major grief, child death,
โ Audrey at Night
minor vomit,
major suicide, pregnancy,
โ The Five-Day Summer Camp
medium vomit,
major medical abuse, child abuse, gore,
โ Skin Like Honey and Lace
minor sexual content, suicide,
major blood, death, cannibalism, pregnancy, murder, toxic relationships, body horror,
โ By Now, I'll Probably Be Gone
major suicide, infidelity, death,
โ Through Earth and Sky
medium child abuse,
major domestic abuse,
โ The Tower Princesses
minor excrement, unsanitary, blood, violence,
medium incest, sexual content,
major suicide, child abuse, child death, sexual harassment, bullying, sexual assault, victim blaming, lesbophobia,
โ And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe
medium infidelity, murder,
major victim blaming,
โ The Lazarus Bride
minor sexual assault,
medium body horror, sexual content,
major fire, death,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Vomit
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Drug use, Excrement, Incest, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit
curatoriallyyours's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A macabre collection of tales, I was not expecting to enjoy something in the horror genre but I found myself enjoying it very much. Brooding and dark rather than scary and shocking, this book intersperses fantasy elements effortlessly. It also has a strong feminist undercurrent without being preachy. Recommended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Self harm, and Suicide
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Vomit
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