Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh

35 reviews

sofiiaclaire's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, and Mental illness

Minor: Cancer, Excrement, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Sexual content, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Violence

mollmccaff's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Murder, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Fatphobia

Minor: Abortion

hannahlouise_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

i thought i’d like this book a lot more than i did coming to it after reading my year of rest and relaxation but honestly it was slightly underwhelming? i felt that the ending only happened as a way to end it, and as much as i love a no plot just vibes read i wasn’t really connected to this book in any way 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Cancer, Emotional abuse, and Excrement

Minor: Abortion and Adult/minor relationship

nialiversuch's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cancer, and Infidelity

Minor: Sexual content

raphynette's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, and Animal death

lovelylilelle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide, Cancer, Alcohol, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Body shaming

Minor: Abortion and Adult/minor relationship

kaylyncatherine's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.5

Your typical tale of an unraveling mind. It is that of a an unreliable narrator lost in a world she’s creating—to such extent she knows not real from her imagination and the reader is just as befuddled as she. 

Death in Her Hands tells the story of a widower, Vesta Gul, who moves across the country to a poor New England town with her dog after the death of her husband. She finds a cryptic note in the woods telling of a woman’s death. Vesta sets forth to solve the mystery, but she gets entangled in her fictionalized versions of the victim and the suspects. Through her delusions we see her lament the life she lived prior to her husband’s passing. His voice echoes in her mind throughout, criticizing her every move. 

This morbid novel is a long stream of consciousness that for me, fell a bit flat. There were certainly some creepy portions, and passages that made me pity Vesta and fear a future resembling the married life she led. But all in all, I was bored. I felt as trapped in Vesta’s mind as Vesta was. And the writing felt a bit desperate at times. I will concede that maybe this was purposeful. Either way, it earned a shoulder shrug from me. 

This is my first Moshfegh and I’m not super impressed. Someday I’ll pick up My Year…but probably not for a while if it’s another deeply character-driven novel.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia

Minor: Infidelity

v1rgo's review against another edition

4.0

yassified and depressionpilled

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

andreiaoh's review

challenging 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? It's complicated

4.0

moshfegh's writing is so beyond compelling. even in a novel following one character's innermost thoughts and no real plot, i was still not bored and felt emotionally charged by this novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Death

Minor: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse

ellie_las's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense 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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Emotional abuse and Sexism