Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

La maison aux pattes de poulet by GennaRose Nethercott

33 reviews

displacedcactus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

I wanted to love this book. I loved the concept, and the opening pages really pulled me in with Nethercott's almost lyrical writing. But y'all, this book is miserable. Sparks of joy are few and far between, quickly moved past so we can focus more on Isaac and Bellatine's intense self-loathing.

I didn't like Isaac at all as a character. I have no time or patience for smarmy men or people who steal from small businesses and others who can ill afford the loss.

Bellatine was a character I could have liked, but she was so closed off that I felt like she was even closed off to me as the reader, and it was hard to connect to her.

A story about hosting a traveling puppet show in Baba Yaga's chicken-legged hut should feel fun and adventurous, even if a dangerous enemy is chasing you. But no fun was to be had.

There is a final, beautiful, hopeful message at the end, but I had a miserable time getting there. I understand why others enjoyed this book, but I was the wrong reader at admittedly the wrong time in my life for something this heavy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Vomit and Cannibalism

There's a brief off-handed mention of necrophilia, somehow SG doesn't have a CW tag for that one. There are specific scenes of a pogrom and they're pretty disturbing.

rosyapple's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative medium-paced

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

5.0

i cried so much 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Blood, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Self harm and War

laurareads87's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I liked a lot about this book.  I found the writing beautiful, and I feel like the author has handled serious and difficult themes -- intergenerational trauma especially -- very well.  I liked the last quarter of the book best, and found that while some questions were left unanswered, the ending was absolutely a satisfying conclusion.  I am not the most versed in Jewish myth, but I appreciated how it was interwoven into the story from what I do know; the historically informed chapters of the story are at times difficult reading, but are very, very well done.  What really didn't work for me was one of the two main contemporary characters (several other reviewers have gotten at why); I found Isaac a very frustrating character, and did not like the way the Isaac/Benji storyline in particular was written like it took place in a much earlier time period (Great Depression, perhaps?) than it did.
<i>Content warnings:</i> Antisemitism, genocide, murder, grief, self harm, blood, suicidal thoughts, animal death, animal cruelty, fire/fire injury, xenophobia, death, child death, violence

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Gore

Minor: Alcohol

alliebliterary's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Antisemitism

nbreezy17's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and War

elizabeth_lepore's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Self harm, Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, and War

mossgoblins's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was hands-down the best story I’ve read in years. I might be a bit biased since my family history is not dissimilar to that of the Yaga’s, yet I believe anyone can appreciate the masterwork of GennaRose Nethercott in Thistlefoot. The plot is airtight, the characters complex and endearing, and the setting simply sparkling with life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Deportation

alisiakae's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and War

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Religious bigotry

abominablesnowaro's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

Minor: Vomit and Alcohol

kingsteph's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Gore, Racial slurs, Self harm, Slavery, and Fire/Fire injury