Reviews tagging 'Violence'

De avond is ongemak by Lucas Rijneveld

27 reviews

becca_thegrimreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

What an appropriate title, discomfort is exactly how I would sum up this book. A claustrophobic novel that tells the story of ten-year-old Jas and her family living on a Dutch farm. After her older brother dies in an accident her family are plummeted into grief, which they never acknowledge. 

As Jas and her siblings are left to their own devices, their methods of dealing with this traumatic event and we watch as they begin to cling onto each other and their beliefs. I would say that this book is not for the faint-hearted as some topics that are mentioned are animal cruelty, child neglect, sexual exploration, and abuse. Not only this, the imagery and language in this book are overly dark and grotesque with nothing left to the imagination. 

Having Jas as the narrator is interesting, as we watch as she tries to make sense of the world she’s living in with limited understanding. Her fantasies at times are incredibly disturbing as she becomes fascinated with the idea of death. She observes her family’s griefs, and their behaviour is narrated by Jas in a childish and honest way. 

As we move towards the end, Jas’ fantasies are hard to determine if they are reality or nightmare. This is a book that explores grief and how it can manifest in different members of a family. I thought that Rijneveld’s aim at points was to create more and more grotesque scenes, where I hoped that there might be a reprieve. This is a book that will have your stomach churning till the very end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death

xingev's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Incest, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse

dale1997's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Incest, Pedophilia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit

mchannah's review against another edition

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, and Violence

ameliasbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Excrement, Child abuse, Grief, Violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Religious bigotry, Vomit, and Death

jamieruwen's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

The word “brutish” comes to mind.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Child death, Violence, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Self harm, Rape, Mental illness, Incest, Grief, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, and Eating disorder

Neglect, emotional manipulation, christianity

uncomfortablenouns's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Incest, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Not for the squeamish. Honestly, I mostly felt trolled by this book.