Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay

8 reviews

august_18's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Mental illness

Moderate: Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, and Bullying

Minor: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, and Addiction

lancemama's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Self harm, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Grief, Bullying, and Terminal illness

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

1.0

i am incredibly disappointed to say that i absolutely hated this. i thought the characters were unbearably miserable, the plot was lack luster, the dialogue was unrealistic and cringey, and the ending was disappointing. i did not expect to dislike this even close to as much as i did. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Medical content, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, and Medical trauma

rachelly's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Alcoholism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Cancer, and Addiction

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.0

A boring mind f*ck. Is that a thing? Well, if not it is now! You've got 2 unreliable narrators, the male one is a dull teen boy then a generic white guy with scoliosis (which by the way they don't usually do surgery on until you're done growing) with an alcohol and drug problem, who then blames himself for everything bad that happens. 

I usually like books with odd formats but this one just didn't work. Mercy/Mary's commentary was the only part that kept me reading. But you still don't know what's real and what's not in the end. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Grief, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death of parent and Terminal illness

Minor: Body shaming and Bullying

leanne_miron's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Death

Moderate: Gore, Bullying, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol, Cannibalism, and Drug use

dreamdoughnut's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

2.5

I have torn through many of Tremblay’s other novels so I was eagerly awaiting the Pallbearers Club. It didn’t grip me in the same way. Most of his other novels are fast-paced, starring out the gate with horror. This one dragged.

I think my main issue is that Art is incredibly unlikeable. I love a narrator that is flawed and unreliable but ultimately you want to relate to that character. He was vulnerable but blamed everyone but himself for his problems. He reminded me of an ex of mine, so maybe that’s a personal problem.

It wasn’t the worst book I’ve read. It just wasn’t a nail-biter like Tremblay’s other novels.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, and Medical content

Minor: Cancer and Terminal illness

queergoth_reads's review

dark mysterious sad slow-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

3.0

I got this eARC from NetGalley but all thoughts are my own. 

I was super excited when I got this request approved. I was a huge horror fan as a teen and I'm slowly getting back into it. Earlier this year I started reading books by Paul Tremblay and honestly they were right up my street to I jumped at the chance to read this. Unfortunately this one didn't do it for me in the same way as some of his other works. This book is framed as a memoir with editing notes from his friend. I really like this concept. It allowed for so much more nuance in the story. The author really captured Art's voice so well. It really came across like the memoir it's supposed to be. However, I felt like that was a double edged sword. It was very much written in Art's voice but honestly I didn't like Art or his writing. It grated on me a lot and I really only pushed through because I wanted to see where it was going. The notes were a nice break. It was nice to have this dual POV almost. I don't know if it was because it was an ebook but I'd have loved to have seen these note set up more like someone was writing in the margins but that might have broken the flow a bit. Overall I was a bit underwhelmed. The ending was really perfect and I think it made up for the effort it took me to get through to the end.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Drug use, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death of parent and Terminal illness

Minor: Drug abuse