Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

56 reviews

zarap's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-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

4.25

Be aware: Manhunt is very dark. But I felt very much in good hands the whole way through, in the sense that it was always very clear who the reader is meant to be rooting for. Several of the "bad" characters are sort of a dark gray in the sense that they're clearly human and don't feel like caricatures, but/and they've done/are doing a lot of really bad shit - I never got the sense (like I have occasionally from other books) that I was supposed to go "wellll they're having a hard time, it's okay," if that makes sense.

And with the caveat that I don't hold all of the identities represented in Manhunt, I thought the representation in it was/is SO well done. On a personal level, I'm so so grateful for the fat representation in this book.

just. Indi being fat and smart and surviving the apocalypse but not being able to rough it in the same way as her friends, and their choice to stick with her through it all, and the fact that she ends up in a loving relationship with someone who views her body as a normal and lovable part of her!! Just!! I cannot. I also think it's pretty clear that we're supposed to assume Indi is superfat, which I ESPECIALLY appreciate as it is so rare. I'm not sure I've ever read a book with a character as fat as Indi represented well and complexly.

I also think the trans and nonbinary rep is excellent but as a probably-cis person I don't know that I have as much to say about it, except to say that I have absolutely never read a book with SO MANY TRANS AND NONBINARY PEOPLE. SO GREAT. WHAT A VARIETY. I feel like my all caps is coming off sarcastic but it is absolutely not. And we see a wide range of the good and bad of queer relationships in a way that feels very real - like, these people are not supposed to be that far off in time from our current day queer communities, and they feel like it.

I'm still not compleeeetely sure how I feel about the ending, but generally I like it (that probably makes no sense/is not at all helpful but oh well). 

TL;DR: HIGHLY recommend but definitely check out the content warnings and uh, gird your loins? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Cannibalism, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Grief

machinations's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Hell yes. Cried at the end. Much smarter people than will have more interesting words to say about Manhunt, but I think one of the biggest things that stood out to me was that this is one of the few books I’ve ever read where each sentence is beautifully, horrifically crafted; whole stories within sentences. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Outing, and Dysphoria

Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Classism

kylajaynebooks's review

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense slow-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

*wow* 

This read like a movie - it was brutal, nasty, horrifying, real, depressing, funny, reflective, sarcastic and I loved it so much. 

It has so much to say and really makes you question feminism and how it absolutely does not always include everyone. It explores gender identity, mental illness, toxic relationships, eugenics, sex work, genocide and dictatorships 

Just wow this was a gory disgusting sexy masterpiece 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

atenderwitch's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I don't care about war or for multiple povs but also it was v exciting and erotic 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kingweirdo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

I might have to come back and write more after some time to think about it, and I have to preface any review with HUGE TRIGGER WARNINGS for anti-trans violence and also very real trans trauma

but

This is one of the most touching, heartbreaking, brutal books I've ever read. I was so in love these characters, and even sickly attached to the villain narrator. Every chapter held a gut-punch, whether it was a horrible death, or act of violence, or a transphobic microaggression, or just the horrible things that the characters said to themselves while surviving the actual end of the civilized world.

And while this book is PACKED with blood and guts, bullets and knives, and breathtaking fights to the death, the world is so smartly built and the premise is SO wrought with symbolism. The entire conceit establishes a Binary sex problem and then immediately starts dismantling it and showing a dozen gaps in that easy essentialism. It asks us horrifying questions about identity and community, it leaves no population unscrutinized, it reminds us of how much there is to fear from our fellow humans, and it also gives us such remarkable tenderness.

I wept. I usually hate series, but I'm honestly begging the author to extend this universe and give us more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Self harm, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

criticalgayze's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

My thanks to the publisher, Tor Nightfire, for an advanced digital copy of this title via Netgalley in exchange for free and fair review consideration.

Holy heck. As you can see from the litany of "trigger warnings" appended to this review (on Storygraph, if viewing on another platform), this book is a minefield of topics. Felker-Martin is most definitely not aiming for inclusion in your local right-wing library.

If you read last year's bestselling and highly lauded Detransition Baby, then you have already been in conversation with many of the ideas presented here. In fact, Felker-Martin both quotes and credits the author, Torrey Peters, within the work. Like Detransition, Baby, Manhunt is actively wrestling with both how trans people, specifically trans women, are socialized amongst each other and among the broader (specifically female-identifying) population.

By mutating all peoples producing high, masculine-assigning levels of testosterone, Felker-Martin is able to grapple almost exclusively with how trans women, and their allies to a lesser extent, are treated by the femme-assigned-and-identifying by allowing the latter group to have reason to make their discomfort and disdain explicit. As these trans women could be biologically betrayed into regressing to masc-presentation levels of testosterone, which would force them to succumb to the novel's male-mutating pandemic. With this excuse, femme-assigned-and-identifying women seeking gender purity and previously denied power structures are able to finally dissociate from tacit allyship in favor of a sex-based caste system.

This book is shamelessly targeted. Felker-Martin repeatedly calls out known TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) J.K. Rowling, who has on multiple occasions sought to delineate trans women from biological women, like herself. Because of this pointed critique, this book will face its share of intense backlash and vitriol from those who claim themselves allies (or those who purposefully do not) yet want to exclusively own their biological title as "woman" in an attempt to win the "oppression olympics."

Consider this my Surgeon General's book stamp: Approach with caution, but approach.

Quotes:
Pussy certified all-natural by the Daughters of the Witches You Couldn’t Burn or whatever Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival bullshit the TERFocracy in Maryland bowed down to. (Location 82)
She always scarred like that, as though her body had known ahead of time that it was going to be torn open. As though it were prepared for mutilation. (Location 603)
“Oh, honey.” Indi settled deeper into the chair, shifting back and forth inside its confines. “The world is over. Who cares how fast you go?” (Location 1061)
She’d been like that for as long as Fran had known her, as meticulous about her clothes, her hair, her makeup as she was careless about her house, as though she were a topiary: not quite static, but reliant on the illusion of it. (Location 1321)
She had a whole drawer full of different smiles for when she needed them. (Location 1386)
Fran could see the blank “Sex” boxes on the intake form, twin islands all-encompassing in a sea of ephemera. How many times had she dithered in the blank quarter inch between them? (Location 1560)
“I’m trans. I’ve had first dates with more crying than that.” (Location 1998)
It’s just a way to keep from being drawn and quartered by the Knights of J. K. Rowling. (Location 2217)
“Them, the people outside, the people in Boston and Concord and Worcester. Every dyke and freak and faggot in the world is my fucking problem, and they’re yours too, Fran." (Location 2599)
Community is when you never let go of each other. Not even after you’re gone. (Location 3965)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Deadnaming, Self harm, Trafficking, and Death of parent