Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous

17 reviews

dmackreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

In summary I feel like this book is about a man getting hurt once, choosing to hurt everybody else afterwards and getting off on it even though the reason he got “hurt” the first time was his own fault, and then getting a little taste of his own medicine too. I had a lot of “wtf” moments and a few laughs due to dark humor. Being only 151 pages it’s a super quick read that kept me interested until the end because I wanted to understand the point and know what would happen. 

Personally I get drawn into stuff like this because I’m always curious to understand the minds of fucked up people. On the flip side I feel like the more I try to understand troubled characters the more conflicted I feel. 

The #1 complaint I see in other reviews is how “horrible the narrator is” I mean yeah… He’s an addict who is also giving sadistic psychopathic narcissist who needs to seek serious help. Why we are giving a book a shitty rating because the MC is shitty is crazy to me because sometimes that’s the literal point of the book. You don’t have to like him and maybe it’s not your thing but the book itself is good. It’s a “diary” of a mad man essentially. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

xoxo_emmalynn's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

This book is quite literally one of the most difficult books to get through. The actual writing is awful and there really no point to the story. The main character and author I’m assuming is whiny and annoying throughout the whole book. Honestly almost DNF the writing was so bad. The main character when on many tangents about unimportant information that doesn’t help progress the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

jenna_rae13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

yara_own's review against another edition

dark fast-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

0.5

*smirks*

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Content Warnings

Minor: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse

icarusandthesun's review against another edition

dark funny reflective 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

2.75

lots of potential, average execution.

i picked this up because i saw a youtube short that basically said something along the lines of "i'm halfway through this book and i feel sick" backdropped by a picture of the first page, adorned with the very eye-catching first sentence:
 

i liked hurting girls. 

i was intrigued, because i'm a fan of all things dark, disgusting, disturbing, mental.

and the first third was quite good, actually - funny (the narrator taking the "pith" out of someone's "lithsp" was probably the funniest thing i've read in a book ever) and cynical; the reader absolutely appalled by the narrator and yet being met with smart and relatable quotes, self-aware, realistic observations about life and the relationships we choose to fill it with.

but all of that sort of got lost as the story progressed: the narrator becoming an emblem in AA (alcoholics anonymous), getting a good job, fretting about the future, describing his boring and mid-life-crisis way of living, and tiring everyday life.
halfway through, this turned into some sort of self-pitying self-help book written by a touch-deprived middle-aged man.

and the thing with aisling, right...
the thing we've been waiting for since page one.

it was just silly. i didn't pity the narrator and i also didn't understand what her strategy was supposed to be. it didn't have any impact, wasn't surprising, wasn't brutal at all (which is what i'd desperately hoped for).

it was nothing.

infuriating, considering i read 140 slow and excruciating pages to get to this point just to be disappointed like every girl the narrator fooled back in his prime time. (ironic, if you think about it.)

yeah, i just expected something a little different. i wanted disgusting, unhinged. i wanted another humbert humbert (shame on whoever it was who compared this book to lolita in the synopsis).
i wanted so much more than this.

but alas.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts

kats_reads_'s review against another edition

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? Yes

0.5

i hate this guy. why is he trying to gaslight us? it’s not working. he’s so unlikable and misogynistic and deserves the bad coming to him. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Addiction

jinx_mars's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Misogyny, Mental illness, and Infidelity

starryybella's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

Yes, I caved. I read one of the most unrecommended books out there. The curiosity was killing me to read it. 
And honestly? I don't regret reading it, as stomach-knotting as it was.
As the trigger warnings can tell you, it's one of the most vulgar books I've ever read. It's definitely up there with "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis.
I feel like it's safe to compare the narrator/author to Patrick Bateman in some aspects, speaking of "American Psycho", except the narrator is much more in touch with the world around him and doesn't have an urge to *physically* hurt. But he does not have any true emotions like love or compassion for others, as well as struggling with alcoholism. He doesn't have much remorse for his actions either, as he clearly states in the first page.
The book, as people have probably heard, is most famous for its first lines: "I like hurting girls. Emotionally, not physically. I've never hit a girl in my life. Well, once. But that was a mistake. I'll tell you about it later. The thing is, I got off on it. I really enjoyed it." (1)
And news flash: I'm one of those readers who gets either pulled in immediately by the first page or just puts off reading the book until later if it doesn't captivate me or pique interest immediately.
I didn't enjoy the book because of its content. I'd be insane if I did, but not to say you are if you did enjoy the content (kind of…).
The sole reason I enjoyed it was because I'm someone who likes psychoanalyzing characters, even if the character is meant to be horrible. That's what brings fun back into the book for me and makes me be able to stand it. Otherwise, I'd probably be in the category of the faint-hearted that would hate this book because of how awful the content of it is. 
It's written well, once you get beyond the fact he's a rotten human being. I also just sat through the sex scenes and read them to get past them.
It is satisfying to get to the ending, although I wish he got more of what he deserved. I did have to read it twice to fully understand it but it left me with more questions - hence, my currently reading the sequel.
It rambles on at times and goes on tangents - it sometimes be difficult to understand or to keep track of the plot. However, insight into his mental state of mind made this book enjoyable and I wouldn't take out anything, except for a couple of churning depictions of hurting women or sex scenes I would have rather not read.
Do not eat if you're reading this book. It churned my stomach at some points and I definitely believe this book is not for everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, and Cursing

Moderate: Pedophilia

aquaria127's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Suicide

julianalynne's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

A really deep psychological stream of consciousness from a perceived protagonist with a mind comparable to that of a serial killer. I loved it, I loved trying to understand him, and I loved partially feeling a sort of relationship with him through his journey in recovery. Totally recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Addiction, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Body shaming, Cursing, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual content