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fuathling's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
If you're looking for something to cringe over, to grimace at while reading due to the sheer abundance of grotesque, stomach-churning filth mounted on the pages: it's a book worthy of conversation.
After reading this I found myself wishing I knew someone else who had just so that we could both stare at each other and collectively chant "what the fuck".
Alison seems to depict transphobia as a disease-- which isn't altogether a poor depiction; but fails to tie her story together in a way that really feels concrete.
I finished this story envisioning a loosely knotted ball of dripping gore with no real core plot tying it all together. It seems to unravel at the end in a sort of "yes, its just more gross stuff" way that doesn't feel at all satisfying and instead left me going "huh???"
I wasn't disappointed but I wasn't impressed, either.
The book is chalk full of fucked up scenes, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone triggered by transphobic, dysphoric, or sexual scenarios. There's a lot to be flagged about this book, but if you can handle it-- I suggest reading it with a friend: that way you at least have someone as equally confused as you are by the end of it all.
I get the overlying message, but I failed to find the real satisfaction of a book well written.
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol
ee_comins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Abandonment
grimdark_dad's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
jessnrusso's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
catatlanta's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
joy_ong's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
ribbenkast's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This book is loud, its metaphores anything but subtle. It's vile, and it absolutely demands your attention. often times horror writers are in a competition to write the grossest thing out there just for the sake of it. This book is gross and nauseating but uses that to make it's point and it makes it point well. I couldn't put it down. It's not for everyone, but it definitely was the book for me.
Despite the book's subject and message, Allison Rumfitt shows off some amazing writing skills. They way she utelizes different perspectives, breaks the 4th wall, uses punctuation, all of it should be studied by any aspiring writer no matter which genre.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism
vixenreader's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Be aware that this is frank depictions of parasitic infestations with human bodies, urine, water sports, scat-play, anal sex, cyberbullying, online harassment, bombing, terrorism, eating and inserting excrement, fisting, running away from home, homicide, and extreme TERF behaviour.mxfahrenheit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Xenophobia, Excrement, and Death of parent
gia0203's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
The same themes pervade both books: being transgender in Britain, and how it links sexuality and trauma. Rumfitt writes about how it feels like we’re going backwards. She touches again and again on how extremist ideas spread. Interestingly in this novel, the internet is also a major theme, for example the fetish community. She pulls at the tension between fetish communities as a bit of fun, a sanctuary and as a coping mechanism.
This book is at times very satirical. I really enjoyed that. It isn’t scared to expose the underbelly of hypocrisy in modern politics. There’s a passage in this book that says everything is about sex, and people just like to pretend that it isn’t. This book is daring when Britain at the moment is leaning towards conservatism and tradition.
In this book, the worms are the metaphor for extremism, similar to the haunted house in Tell Me I’m Worthless. But Rumfitt’s books can’t really be defined as just one thing. She juggles many metaphorical plates at once. I criticised Tell Me I’m Worthless for it’s lack of clarity, and I don’t hold the same criticism for this book. In many ways it’s a stronger novel. Rumfitt is growing really well as an author.
Subjectively however, I think the difference between them is that Tell Me I’m Worthless was more emotional, more zoomed in on the two people at the heart of it, whereas Brainwyrms takes a broader perspective. I prefer Tell Me I’m Worthless on a personal level, but Brainwyrms is the better book.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Minor: Ableism, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Infertility, Rape, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
Terrorism/Bombing