Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Everything Under by Daisy Johnson

6 reviews

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

veara_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Child death, Eating disorder, Animal cruelty, and Self harm

zed_dog's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

Going in knowing this book is based on the myth of Oedipus helped inure me to the creepiness of the plot elements which are drawn directly from the source material, so that I could focus on the beautiful lyrical language, the evocative setting (somewhat gothic in its power over plot and characters), and the deep emotional intricacies of the central mother-daughter relationship. Manifests the theme of inevitability from Oedipus in interesting ways.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Alcoholism

mmsnz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Alcoholism, and Abandonment