Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay

15 reviews

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

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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

adrilynn21's review against another edition

funny mysterious sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Toxic friendship, Death, Chronic illness, Grief, and Stalking

ivorymusic82's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Great book if you love unreliable narrators and a rich inner dialogue. Very odd, complex, and sad

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Toxic friendship, and Body horror

Minor: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Stalking

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. 

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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

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. 

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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

mandkips's review

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Addiction, and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief, Cancer, Alcohol, and Drug use

Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, and Bullying

rachelunabridged's review against another edition

reflective 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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Cursing

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Cancer 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

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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

sylvestra's review against another edition

dark emotional funny slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Chronic illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Grief

imrereads's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

I've been struggling with how to review this, because I think this is the kind of book that improves my knowing very little going in. Essentially it is the memoir of Art Barbara about his younger years. In high school during the late 80s he created the Pallbearer's Club where they volunteered at sparsely attended funerals. This is how he met Mercy. What makes this book interesting is that Mercy's comments in the margins, as she - now an adult - reads through the memoir. Except, her side of the story doesn't align with Art's at all. According to her, this is a novel. 

In and of it self, it's a really cool concept, and the turn it took really sucked me in. We have an unreliable narrator, and someone who comments heavily on that fact. The question is how reliable she is. It gets weird and I loved it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Addiction, and Grief