Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

8 reviews

linblythe_pub22's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Death

Minor: Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Religious bigotry

mmoonlight's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I wanted to read this one for a while now, and because I recently received a copy, I finally could.

While I did not particularly like any of the characters, I did enjoy the development of Laura and Carmilla's dynamic, the prose, the descriptions, and the feeling of suspense. Now I understand why Carmilla is such a groundbreaking work.

The only real complaint I have is that I expected something more complex when it comes to wrapping up the story. For example, more about Baron Vordenburg, whose appearance was really underwhelming, or for the final clash with Carmilla to be something bigger, something more striking and intense.

However, those aspects did not make me enjoy the novella any less. It was predictable and formulaic, as a lot of Gothic tales are, but I still found it entertaining.

Also, I have to say, I love the cover of the edition I was gifted, as well as the chosen fonts. Very pretty.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Classism

nypho_maniac's review against another edition

mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

3.25

Wish it was even gayer but still a very relaxing read.
Short and interesting but nothing too exciting.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness and Blood

Minor: Child death, Death, Suicide, Blood, and Religious bigotry

jjjjo's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, and Abandonment

Minor: Misogyny, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

eva_vva's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Confinement, Stalking, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Gore, Sexism, Suicide, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

clovetra's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

easily out of all the classics i’ve read from before the 1900s, this is my favourite. 

yes technically this edition is modern as it was edited by carmen maria machado but SHUT UP.

also shout out to carmen i loved her editing!!!! her little end notes plus her prologue? honestly without her editing i don’t think i would’ve enjoyed this as much. so happy i chose to read this edition. the fact that carmen doesn’t add the additional letters simply to spite the author for hiding just HOW DOWN BAD laura was???? god her prologue was so fun. usually prologue’s for classics are a snooze fest where it’s literally just them recounting the authors life, but carmen somehow managed to breathe life into a short summary? plus i don’t know if the original edition has this or if carmen added it, but the images!!!!! did not expect them, and honestly it added to the story quite nicely, especially the images where laura is so incredibly down bad. she’s so me coded (falls head over heels in seconds without checking for concerns and becomes absolutely infatuated with someone she knows jack shit about). i love stupid lesbian rep in my 1800s gothics. 

god what can i say. this book immediately gets bonus points because i am infact a lesbian who loves vampires and horror. like this book was set up for me to love it. plus carmen’s editing made all the fanciful 1800s english actually coherent! cuz im sorry english pre-1900s is so hard for my brain to comprehend. sorry booktwt im not smart enough for classics sue me. but this? this made so much sense and i loved it.

i also loved that the classic vampire traits we’ve grown to know don’t come from this. i mean this was literally the blueprint of vampire tales. i love that carmilla is just a sleepy girl who wakes up at 1pm and is moody. me and carmilla are one in the same. she gets me fr. like fuck that shit about garlic give me an enchantress who happens to be perpetually tired. like my girl has CFS/ME and is goth she’s literally me!!!!!!!! plus she turns into a cat!!!!! all lesbians love cats!!!!!! carmilla is the same as modern day lesbians i said what i said.

also props for the lesbianism being so explicit! in other classics there’s a lot of subtext…., nah in here we see carmilla and laura kiss and laura has a sleep orgasm cuz she dreams about carmilla. she’s so down bad. 

i wish i got a bit more time with my homegirl carmilla and saw her be more explicitly a vampire but im not too mad about it. i like the fact her vampirism is more of an undertone and is less explicit honestly. fuck lesbianism being in the subtext let’s make the fact she is an ancient supernatural being the subtext 🔥

anyways this might actually be my favourite classic. I LOVE LESBIANS!!!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

marigo1ds's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Blood, and Religious bigotry

victorianrogue's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Religious bigotry