Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Eileen

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

roseknows124's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad 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

2.5

Content Warnings

brinnavirginia's review

Go to review page

tense 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

1.0

I'm apt to love a book in which nothing much happens and of course welcome a book rich in plot. This book is at least 50% exposition and then attempts to squeeze the rest of a plot into the final third or so--one that's just-ok and simply not worth trudging through what comes first to get there.
I'm down with an unlikable protagonist, but Eileen was not interesting enough to warrant her detestable character (and intense, over-the-top, makes-me-think-it-might-be-the-author fatphobia). I enjoyed the womanly yuckiness at first until it was just soooo much puke.
This book could have been, like, a hundred fewer pages. I had to read the Wikipedia plot summary to convince myself to just finish reading it (pulled through for book club <3). In the end, it wasn't worth the effort.

Content Warnings

ricketycricket's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious fast-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

3.5

Content Warnings

leic01's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

Content Warnings

minimicropup's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark 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

4.5

Setting the Scene: 🇺🇸 Set in a New England town in 1964

POV: We follow our main character in their fifties, recalled their childhood and early adulthood experiences from the 1960s.

Mood Reading Match-Up:

-Autobiographical character study

-Unhinged obsessive female characters with 1960s vibes that could be nostalgic

-Literary psychological horror ick and cringe

-Themes of obsession, repression, arrested development, growing up, hope, abuse, injustice, revenge, disillusionment, and anger.

----

🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕

🗣️ Tale-Telling: The first-person narrative was like a direct conversation with the reader. Eileen is sharing her life story with us, complete with reflective observations and raw honesty. The audio narrator embodied Eileen perfectly. I was able to multitask without zoning out and looked forward to getting back to the story. It felt like I was listening to an actual memoir.

👥 Characters: This is my favourite kind of character study and hard to find. Eileen was not a likeable character, but she was so compelling right from the start and she feels so much like a real person. She’s an outcast living with her alcoholic and abusive father – socially anxious, self-conscious, repressed, and without much hope for the future. Even when she grossed me out or did terrible things, I couldn’t bring myself to fully dislike her.

🗺️ Ambiance: The settings are atmospheric, capturing the essence of the 1960s in a natural, cinematic way. From the cars to the work environment, it was like stepping in to a different era.

🔥 Fuel: The story is driven by a psychological slow-building suspense. As the reader we are often questioning our feelings towards Eileen. Should we sympathize, be disgusted, root for her, or root for her downfall? All four? It was the perfect mix of moral and emotional dilemmas. Gradually we get mystery surrounding a new person at her work and what's up with their strange behaviour - which we aren't sure is real or just Eileen's growing obsession making her infer meanings that aren't there.

🎬 Scenes: The pacing was steady slow burn. It kept me hooked with its introspective nature and having no idea where the story was going, as Eileen becomes increasingly agitated. The scenes are cringe-inducing in the best way. We’re a fly on the wall, witnessing all the second-hand embarrassment, but it never felt cringe-for-the-sake-of-cringe or gratuitous.

🤓 Random Thoughts: The only disappointment for me was the ending – I liked the concept of the ending making us question what we may have thought of Eileen all along, but it felt so rushed and almost random. I was glad it wasn’t a lazy or contrived ending at least. Now that I write this, I realize I may have just been disappointed that the story was over.

----

Content Heads-Up: Alcoholism. Loss of a parent. Emotional abuse (familial). Loneliness, anxiety, intrusive thoughts. Sexual content (ruminating, fantasizing). Rape (fantasies, topic). Obsession. Sexual slurs. Lesbophobia (historical). Dementia. Death of a pet (on page; grief). Body fluids.

Rep: White American. Cis-gender.

👀 Format: Listened to on Everand Audio

“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”

Content Warnings

emilyrosebooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark 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

3.0

I am giving this 3 stars because the writing is really wonderful, it is creepy and bold. However it is very very slow. I enjoyed the perspective of the narrator as the main character in her now 70s looking back and telling the story of herself at age 24. The main character, Eileen, is NOT lovable, especially not in her youth, but she is the sort of disaster you can't look away from. I do wish the book started with the sentence, "This is the story of how I disappeared" or something along those lines because it felt directionless for a while.

Content Warnings