Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Le corps exquis by Poppy Z. Brite

44 reviews

mnm718's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Cannibalism, Torture, Body horror, Blood, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Excrement, and Death

niccolowilliam's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

It started out horrible then got slightly better towards the end. Dont get me wrong i love disturbing and grotesque things. It honestly wasnt the way they talked about cannibalism and necrophillia it was the weird was they talked about asians and the fact that its clearly Jeffery dahmer 'inspired' (im using the nicer word) which made me really uncomfortable. His victims were real people and the author is definitely not in the demographic that dahmer went after to say the least so ot just feels tone deaf. Every gay charecter is a negative stereotype and

jay and andrew dont even meet until near the end of the story but the summary makes it seem like the main point of the book will be them together not just the mediocre conclusion

Even the sexual and gory stuff (so every other page) felt more for the sake of being shocking and disturbing than weaving an actual plot sometimes. I gave it two stars because there are definitely some moments i liked but i dont even have the energy to write every single issue i had with this story down

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Body horror, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Xenophobia, Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Medical content, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Gore, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Outing, Stalking, Slavery, Incest, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Police brutality

cnossek's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Stalking, Abandonment, Body horror, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Chronic illness, Classism, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Torture

books_onthe_ground's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense fast-paced

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

4.0

See, this is the kind of book that you can’t just say “I loved it!” because you will get concerning looks but I did, in fact, love this book. I enjoyed reading it immensely! Which is strange to say because of the absolute horrendous and extremely graphic things that happen in this book, but that’s the point!! It’s supposed to be one of the most uncomfortable and graphic things you’ve ever read and it boy does it succeed in that!! This is probably the most graphic thing I’ve ever read and it FASCINATED me. As a horror reader and writer it was so interesting to see how much Billy was able to put in the book and it’s definitely going to be a book that stays in my head throughout my career. It’s not a book I would recommend for everyone because of the extreme content warns however I will absolutely be yelling about this book for YEARS to come. I’m so so so happy I finally read it and I can’t wait to read more of Billy’s work!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Cursing, Excrement, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Torture, Vomit, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racial slurs, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

priceliketag's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Confinement, Chronic illness, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Torture, Blood, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Incest, and Animal death

chersonese's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

At time of writing this review I still need to finish Poppy's other work but after reading Exquisite Corpse I doubt anything else will have the same impact on me. 

It's brutal, realistically so, certainly not for anyone who struggles with graphic and sexual violence, but it works within the confines of the story. I'd already made peace with Tran not making it out alive as soon as he stumbled into Jay and Andrews grasp, but I didn't think I'd feel the sense of loss I did when reading the passage leading to his demise.

 
  This book is beautifully grotesque and will stick with anyone who reads it, for better or for worse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Rape, Death, Gore, Blood, Physical abuse, Murder, Drug use, Sexual violence, Torture, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Homophobia, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Excrement, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Incest

waverlyloyd's review against another edition

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Homophobia, Incest, Addiction, Excrement, Physical abuse, Self harm, Kidnapping, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Body horror, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual harassment, Murder, Pedophilia, Torture, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Violence

floorsalad's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Got to the halfway point and couldn't put it down. Grotesquely explicit and deliciously queer. Would be a 5 star read without the racism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Drug use, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Torture, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Mental illness, and Suicide

frantasticmissfox's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Gory, disturbing, and intense but beautifully written and captivating story of the worst of humanity. Only recommend this book to hardcore horror fans, as it is one of the most vivid books I’ve ever read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Body horror, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Rape, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Suicide, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Violence, and Vomit

nexadon's review against another edition

challenging dark funny sad fast-paced

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

4.5

The peak of an ultra-specific genre, strongly reminiscent of regular non-horrific 90's gay pornography with some charming twists. Each and every introduced character is in some way a tragic figure, so do not go into this book expecting goodness and naivety to be rewarded by the narrative.
My only criticism would be directed at the unbalanced nature of the cast and the length of the book (which go hand in hand).
Character talk (DEFINITELY SPOILERS):

While I like Andrew's exclusive access to first person pronouns in the narration because it makes his sections that much more ominous, characters like Luke and Tran who would have benefited from deeper development feel that much flatter in comparison. Luke is the source of my biggest gripes, I feel like a book exclusively focused on him would have drawn me effortlessly, but his role in Exquisite Corpse is a little bit annoying. I love his hateful and "offscreen" monstrous nature, but within the pages of the book he feels rather useless, almost like a bridge between Jay and Andrew and the audience, not "that bad" but still patently reprehensible enough that he's difficult to like.
Tran also seems to suffer a little bit from a similar problem, in that his role as a perfect victim seems to consume his agency. I suppose this is part of his character, but if he has the self-determination to essentially "disown" himself and stay away from Luke I should not be this unimpressed by his efforts to escape. I get that Brite wanted Jay to have his Dahmer moment at the climax of the book, but felt that it sacrificed some clarity in the prose and sunk Tran's character at his final moment to "shine" so to speak. I dont have a lot to say about Jay, hes a bit of a sexy Hannibal Lecter shaped lamp.

Anyways! :3 While the graphic nature of this book cannot be understated, I challenge you to examine the lighthearted elements as well, I honestly found some parts of if... kinda cute!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Blood, Gore, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Incest

Incest content is either superficial (Two sexually involved characters lie about being cousins) or mentioned in passing and NOT unpacked (a character is quite blase about his past sexual relationship with his brother.) HIVAIDs and characters having, living with, infecting eachother with, and dying of AIDS is central to the plot of this book.