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eemi42's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
In my opinion, no.
This is the book equivalent of a found-footage film, except the film in question doesn't exist. What we read is the old man Zampanò's essay analyzing this nonexistent film, and Johnny Truant's attempts to piece together the old man's writings. I was drawn to this book because of the horror aspect, though this is more psychological horror than monster or ghost story.
The essay feels pretentious at times, adding to the frustration while reading. Sometimes the book felt gimmicky. And I didn't like Johnny Truant at all (likeable characters are a big deal to me). There were many times where he would meet up with women to discuss the book, only to launch into—ahem—other activities without much preamble. It got repetitive and annoying.
I can respect the obvious amount of work that went into this book. I enjoyed the unconventional formatting and puzzles. It even made me stop and think several times and question my own sanity. But ultimately, if like me you're looking for an enjoyable read with likeable characters, probably just skip it.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Blood, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
britt_blank_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Addiction, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Drug use, Alcohol, Child abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, Gore, Sexual violence, and Violence
heidi_may91's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Minor: Rape, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug abuse, Child death, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
madyou's review against another edition
4.25
Overall this book was tense, freaky, and definitely questionable at times. I loved it and wish there was more. It might take me weeks for me to fully process everything I just read.
Graphic: Body horror, Addiction, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Drug abuse, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, and Physical abuse
lietotheangels's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Cursing, Grief, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
rllaird's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Drug abuse, and Animal death
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Vomit
honest_soupe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: War, Child abuse, Cursing, Violence, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Addiction, Grief, Sexual content, Blood, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Gaslighting, Cultural appropriation, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt
will be writing an essay on this. will be also have the greatest bit where I will point at any house with leaves nearby for any reason and say "OMG it's just like that thing!!!"literallygriffin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Stalking, Violence, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Child abuse, and Suicide
honeyvenom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Cursing, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
rmbrndt's review against another edition
- 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
Personally I don't think the formatting does anything for this book - the footnotes work well but shifting the text around is unnecessary.
So misogynistic at parts it made me infuriatingly angry which easily secured that I will never read another MZD book ever again.
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Pedophilia, Grief, Animal death, Suicide, Child death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder