Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Everything Under by Daisy Johnson

34 reviews

nm25's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, and Dementia

Moderate: Child death

ellenskone's review against another edition

3.5

I liked the experimental writing style once I got used to it. You will hate this if you hate when authors don' t use quotation marks or when the story is told out of order. I knocked off half a star for being pretty predictable. It's very dark. If you know the story of Oedipus then you already know what's going to happen more or less. But then the context clues and foreshadowing beat you over the head with it. There's still a few shocking moments toward the end. I need to sit with this story for a bit. It was a lot. No happy endings here. Read trigger warnings and themes before reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Suicide and Incest

booksandbabble's review

dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Dementia and Abandonment

Minor: Cancer

rhibeetle17's review against another edition

challenging 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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Incest

spookyaz's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Abandonment, Deadnaming, Murder, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Violence, and Transphobia

river_dithers's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was definitely an odd read. I had read Fen by Johnson and was excited to see the emerging fantastical elements, but this book felt darker and less empowering. The descriptions were beautiful and Gretel was a loveable character, but I found it difficult to overcome her mother and the story of Margot. I wanted to see Margot live. Sometimes the plot felt murky, as it became difficult to distinguish between the separate narratives, but I really enjoyed how the ending rounded out, and how Gretel's career ebbed into the early memories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Incest

vohak's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense 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

3.0

I am glad I read it but will probably stick to Johnson's short stories moving forward. An oedipal retelling in 20th/21st century England. A beautifully written but difficult book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Abandonment, and Incest

Moderate: Alcoholism and Blood

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

3.5

Everything Under is a book in which the setting is the most key feature. The river Isis and its community of drifters make up the bulk of this ethereal story. Johnson effortlessly invokes the rhythms of river-living in a way that transports.

The mother-daughter dynamics in this book are well-explored and devastating. Gretel's perspective in particular is heart-wrenching and challenging. Johnson gives the book a mysterious element as we wonder alongside Gretel: who was Marcus and why did he change the trajectory of their life?

Overall, this is a lovely and genderfluid retelling of a classic myth. The characters and the setting were so real-seeming. My only complaint would be that something in the structure felt a little too confusing; it was o

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Deadnaming, Abandonment, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Murder, Alcoholism, and Animal death

imds's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Self harm, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Dementia, Incest, Infertility, Kidnapping, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, and Dysphoria

aisabel's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and Dementia

Moderate: Death of parent, Self harm, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt