Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Bluebeard's Castle by Anna Biller

11 reviews

kerishma's review

I just couldn't finish this. I got about a fifth of the way through and just had to put it down. I'm sorry to say that the writing feels a bit amateurish—it's all telling and no showing. The prose feels straight out of online fanfiction, which is not in itself a bad thing (I was raised on FanFiction.net, Livejournal, and Quizilla!), but when Gavin's eyes are non-ironically described as "orbs" I had to put the book down and close my own orbs. It doesn't help that Judith, the protagonist, is both dull and irritating (it's entirely possible that she undergoes a dramatic character change in beyond what I read, but I don't know that I would count on that). It's clear that Biller loves the Gothic horror and pulp romance genres, but every cultural reference is so painstakingly spelled out to the readers that it feels like she didn't know how to weave in those references more organically. It didn't feel polished enough to be "serious" (for lack of a better term) fiction, nor was it sufficiently exaggerated or sensational enough to call it camp.

Still, I would love to see how Biller would adapt this to film. I think she's one of the few filmmakers today who really understands how to use visual aesthetics to tell a dimensional and engrossing story—in her films, style is a huge part of substance, which isn't easy to do successfully. Here's hoping!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content

whitneyfoster's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.75

I picked this up because I'm in a phase where I'm exploring gothic fiction and I was excited to come across this. The cover makes me think of the old romance bodice rippers. I’ve heard “erotic romance” to describe this but I’m not so sure. There’s definitely a lot of spice that I skimmed over, but sex wasn’t at the fore front even though they talked about it enough. 

Bluebeard's Castle is marketed as a "feminist retelling" of the French folk tale of Bluebeard. I honestly did not get the "feminist" part of the retelling. The protagonist seemed to be pretty obsessed with men even though she had a career and her own money. 

I understand that the writer was trying to realistically protray what its like to be in an abusive relationship, but the protagonist seemed quiet passive. She wasn't even trying to help herself. The book seemed to read like a teenage diary entry. I love him, no I hate him, no I love him! I have read a lot of stories that more effectively portray domestic violence.

Despite the cover, this novel takes place in the modern day, which I think the writer forgets at times. Other than random mentions of modern conveniences like Google, it seems like the author wants this to take place in another era. 

One thing I would change about this novel is to shorten the descriptions. There would be 2-3 pages just describing a room in the castle. I skimmed a good bunch of it. I did find myself caring about the characters enough to know what happens and I don't regret reading the book. I'd recommend this for anyone who loves gothic fiction/thrillers and/or dark romance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Gaslighting, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Infidelity

Minor: Vomit and Blood

carleesue's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Murder, and Rape

elizalk's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.0

Anna Biller's style is so distinct, I didn't love it at first, but picturing it in my mind in the same style as her movie the love witch helped the book grow on me. desperately sad and accurate depiction of the justifications many women make to stay with (evil) men. the story felt like promising young women if it were written better, still left me a bit unsatisfied

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, Death, Animal death, Eating disorder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Vomit, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Rape, Stalking, Suicide, Torture, and Confinement

marinalikeaboatyard's review

dark mysterious tense fast-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

1.0

emerald fennell would direct the shit out of this 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Colonisation, Torture, Addiction, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence

kay_louise's review

challenging dark sad tense

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Murder, Death of parent, Sexual content, Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

i_would_prefer_not_to's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

I can't tell if it's written badly as pastiche or if it's just badly written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Rape, and Violence

mhantzsch's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a really interesting read and knowing that Anna Biller is a filmmaker, you can really see how that influences her writing style. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Torture, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, Blood, Domestic abuse, Addiction, and Infidelity

Minor: Animal death

lateromantic's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

A slow start - if you're a fan of Biller's films you'll like it, the prose has that same stilted, photographic quality as her scripts, and she drops in many references and aesthetic tidbits. I wouldn't call it feminist so much as female-gaze - there is rage but no righteousness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Murder, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Death, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Classism, Misogyny, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

lacylouwho's review

dark medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content and Animal death