Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Boy Parts by Eliza Clark

173 reviews

estherblue's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

saccharinewoe's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

ohhh my god the main character was absolutely insufferable, narcissistic, pretentious, manipulative and unlikeable. i'm amazed at how well that was written to the point i felt like i was supposed to be collecting reasons to dislike the MC. i really liked the author's writing style it felt so easy to read... the air of nonchalance carried by the MC through the whole thing was executed so excellently - especially with how even the most horrifying stuff was described in the same nonchalant tone. the loss of control and loss of sense of self was portrayed so well. this was also a little heartbreaking especially towards the end of it like the most jarring things get revealed when you're caught off guard. a bit stomach-churning to see how a victim can end up hurting other people the same way they were hurt. like she's definitely an incredibly fucked up person to the point it's sad to see because you know exactly how she got to be that way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Dysphoria

lizzie_w123's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Vomit

abhi_vijay94's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Self harm, and Toxic friendship

twentythreeandahalf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

unhingedreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

My current favourite book, I have recommended it to too many people to count. I have listed some trigger warnings attached to this review and this book will certainly not be for everyone. I would recommend the audiobook version as the author narrates it and it really adds to the experience.

This book is a very visceral read, without giving too much away it has an unreliable narrator and many twists and turns. 

Irina is the kind of friend that you warn people about, she is manipulative and gaslights those around her. Somewhat similar to a car crash scene that you know you shouldn’t look at, but can’t quite look away from. She has some interesting pastimes including drug and alcohol abuse, which she seems to utilise as a crutch to escape her current reality of the under appreciated artist. Apart from her bar job her main career focus is photographing generic looking men that she scouts on the streets of Newcastle. Her photography specialises on fetish art and the book follows her attempting to revive her career whilst being entirely horrible to anyone in her vicinity.

There’s many reasons I enjoyed this book, it sticks with you. Irina’s perspective will have you want to laugh at her dark wit and recoil at her true desires.

I have had the pleasure of meeting the author Eliza Clark who is a very down to earth person that writes some pretty messed up books. I would look into some of her interviews because I really think it adds to the overall narrative of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

documentno_is's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I went into Boy Parts largely blind and was better for it, the shock factor and depravity of the slow unveiling of the nature of our protagonist was more impactful than had I known what to expect. I hated every moment of being in this character's head and yet grapple with

the ways in which she can be both predator and victim.  Our main character is a master of manipulation and drowning in her own narcissism yet we see the multitude of ways she is failed by those around her, fueling her perversions.

In many ways reading this novel felt unbearable, both in the situations conjured up and the thought processes we are made privy to. This book felt cutting and revolting in the same ways

Lolita does

. My only complaint was the plot post London visit, for as shocking and fast paced as it was for the first 4/5ths of the story it puttered out

rather ungracefully to an unsatisfying ending of repetitions as is common of unveiling your central underlying "secret" too early on. We are left in liminal space of not knowing how much of our character's recollection is psychosis and how much is sociopathy, undoing much of the suspense of earlier on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

pantslint's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-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

3.75

I wouldn't call this an enjoyable read, but it certainly is an engaging one. It's really accessible, with contemporary speech and pop culture references. And it's like watching a catastrophic train wreck happening in slow motion, on a foggy day,

until suddenly you get clocked in the head with a giant camera.

Irina is hilarious and a great unreliable narrator—she had me feeling like I was descending into a k-hole with her, questioning her version of reality alongside everyone else around her.
I love how women are written here, how they (and ultimately, we) are both victims and perpetrators of misogyny and the male gaze.

Mom to Irina. Irina to Flo, Sera, and literally everyone else.

I wonder what the fuck I have to do for people to recognise me as a threat, you know? It's like... am I even doing this shit? Have I even fucking done anything?

Irina's pretty privilege doesn't make her immune to gender based violence (the opposite, actually), but her literal crazy psychotic bitch behavior is just chalked up to 💅 hot girl shit. Men literally don't see her as dangerous in the same way that women find men dangerous.

Lots to ponder from this book—makes me want to explore other books with similar themes that other reviewers mentioned, like My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh and Tampa by Alissa Nutting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, and Pedophilia

Minor: Animal death

sofiaboebia's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

this book was intense with a lighthearted “nothing matters” tone, in the creepiest way. The last chapter sums this up completely and is a stunning ending to such a gripping book. It almost feels stereotypical but not, it feels like it relies on shock but it doesn’t, it’s well written but almost not. The last line leaves you mouth open, but not particularly shocking. The book follows a deeply attractive woman’s sabbatical from a bar job she was forced to take. excessive drug use, mania, and clearly phycopathic behaviors leave her recollection of the story questionable and unreliable. The first 200 pages are a slow build of a clearly messed up woman living here life as a photographer and partying but the last 100 pages take a dark and gorey turn. This book follows her vengefulness and almost rage, and as awful as she is, she is an compelling and (for some of it) almost forgivable main character(this obviously has to do with her narration as well). This book is almost entirely character driven, nothing “just happens” to her except for the reason she is on a sabbatical in the first place. Although it is character driven there is no positive character development to speak of, throughout the book she looks through her archives of photos and reflects, but clearly she has been a similar person for a long time and will continue to be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Murder, and Alcohol

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

4.0

I found this compulsively readable and incredibly dark.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment