Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt

69 reviews

janbabs's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This is not a book for everyone. Literally all the trigger warnings. It was messed up, disturbing and disgusting. It was like picking a scab. I was compelled to continue reading, even though it was uncomfortable.The major themes of transphobia and political terrorism/fascism felt worryingly relevant to society today, and if anything were amplified by the gruesome horror setting. The writing was brilliant and I thought the shifts between first and third person narratives worked well. This was not an easy read, but I think it's gonna stay on my mind for a long time to come

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Excrement, Gore, Incest, Sexual content, Dysphoria, and Transphobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Medical content, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Self harm, Rape, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Infertility, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Misogyny, Mental illness, Bullying, Blood, Antisemitism, Deadnaming, Drug use, and Alcohol

catatlanta's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Dysphoria, Body horror, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Rape, Classism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Gore, Outing, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Blood, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

grey_jayne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I immediately poured Brainwyrms into my head after reading Rumfitt's debut Tell Me I'm Worthless. She has quickly become one of my favorite authors with both books her perversely poetic filth ragebombs lobbed at society. I absolutely loved that she introduced the book as if she was writing from the 2030s and reporting back, the satire has no bounds this time around and it's pretty great.

I still don't know if her work is accessible to cis people but honestly I don't fucking care. We needed her voice from out of the darkness and I will follow her wherever she goes next. Trans books for trans people!

This is also officially the book with the most trigger warnings that I've logged so far. The label "Extreme horror" should be treated with respect and care. Enter at your own risk.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual assault, Incest, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Self harm

minxtte's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

5.0

I had to physically force myself to stop reading this for my own welfare. Obsessed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Incest, Gore, Hate crime, Murder, Rape, Stalking, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Homophobia, Alcohol, Blood, Mental illness, Death, Excrement, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Cursing, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Self harm, Transphobia, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, Body horror, Child abuse, Infertility, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Islamophobia and Fire/Fire injury

seawarrior's review against another edition

4.0

Brainwyrms is as dark, disgusting, and wormy as promised. Rumfitt excels at ironic wit and at writing thorny characters who encounter brutal pulses of horror within their otherwise mundane lives.

The leads in Brainwyrms treat themselves and others with an aggressive disregard that unfurls into gruesome violence of cosmic proportions. I recognized their ideas and actions in some of the worst and most unwell people I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. Rumfitt is obviously someone who has grown up on the Internet, and was able to depict its underbellies and relentless noise of voices with deftness. However, I did not understand how some of the plots and themes of the book related to one another. This may be because I read the book so quickly, or it may be because I had no familiarity with Edgar Allen Poe's "The Conqueror Worm", which should be a prerequisite for this novel. I would recommend this book to other readers willing to sit with their disgust and read a story that makes no attempt to alleviate their fear of the future. The future for transgender people may be a horrifying one, and Rumfitt knows it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Murder, Chronic illness, Transphobia, Mental illness, Incest, Body horror, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Excrement, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Self harm

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Rape, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Confinement, Misogyny, Animal death, and Lesbophobia

erica_reads_things's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

My second read by Alison Rumfitt and I was so excited to be brought back into her world and unique writing voice. I was not disappointed in that regard! I do think this would be a 5 star for me on my second read, as the themes were a bit harder to follow than in Tell Me I'm Worthless. Im for sure going to give this a second read in the future to focus more on what it all means, what the wryms represent, and so on. That's really a huge part of what I have loved about Alison's work thus far. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Incest, Gore, Transphobia, Body shaming, Infertility, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Death of parent, Hate crime, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Animal death, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Medical content, Fatphobia, Dysphoria, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Homophobia, and Outing

joy_ong's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Dysphoria, Violence, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Vomit, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Excrement, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Incest, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

fnnbnjmnks's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Child abuse, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Body horror, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt

yavin_iv's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Body horror, Excrement, Kidnapping, Rape, Transphobia, Blood, Death of parent, Self harm, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Drug use, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

maecaitlin's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

So grotesque - I loved it. The content warnings should definitely be heeded before starting the book.

I had to take multiple breathers and breaks to get through due to how graphic the horror is. But, it’s a really effective analysis of the horror of this TERF Island. 

The only reason this hasn’t been rated higher is that I’m not a massive fan of how the book sometimes structurally derails itself into rambles every now and again. Sometimes the portrayals of kink were just too much for my innocent mind.

I would not recommend this to any of my friends or family as I fear they would have their opinion forever changed of me, and I feel that’s a good sign of a strong horror. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Excrement, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Body horror, Dysphoria, and Gore