Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

11 reviews

asg20's review

mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Terminal illness

emily_schlegel's review

dark mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dysphoria, Blood, Suicide, and Grief

litliz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Suicide, Sexual content, Vomit, Death, Grief, Chronic illness, Confinement, Dementia, Dysphoria, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia

waima_03's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Confinement

Moderate: Dysphoria

sav_22's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

I fell in love with the writing style used in this book. I would classify this as an introspective; it unfolds into two storylines, with one following flashbacks and the other following the aftermath. I think if you are looking for a thriller, this isn’t for you; while this contains a lot of body horror, disturbing and complex trauma, it very much focuses on the trauma of grieving someone that’s fundamentally changed—someone that’s still there physically, but has disappeared everywhere else. It’s a book about trauma of loss as well as the trauma of loving.

as much as I would have loved to know the actual cause of Leah’s condition and what happened down there in the dark depths of the sea, I think this book is meant to live through the metaphor of what’s happening. I interpreted Leah’s condition as symbolism for a greater complex trauma that’s destroyed her spirit and in turn is destroying her physically. It reminds me of how people shut down after a traumatic event, with the ptsd of it further sinking them into oblivion. Viewing it this way made the story all the more gut wrenching, as Miri has to both process the grief of losing Leah twice: once to her incident, and the next to her trauma. Overall, I found the incompleteness of this conclusion to be purposeful and reflective on the reoccurring theme of “unstillness”; Life goes on, and so will you, even if you aren’t able to understand everything. <spoiler/> 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Grief, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Moderate: Excrement, Medical content, Suicide, Death, Dementia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

Minor: Gaslighting, Cancer, and Dysphoria

cady_sass's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

I don’t know what I was expecting but it certainly wasn’t what I got. What a weird, eerie piece of writing. Yet also beautiful and elegant. But I need to stress on the weird - this definitely won’t be for everyone and has an ending that some/most may find maddening. It’s not quite horror, but it’s not quite anything else either, and I’m not sure how to quantify it. I would love to see an indie film adaptation of this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Dysphoria, Body horror, Death of parent, Abandonment, Grief, Sexual content, and Death

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Body horror, Confinement, Dementia, Death, Dysphoria, and Grief

chris_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I genuinely don't know what to feel about this. Somehow really good and meh simultaneously. I loved the prose and themes and atmosphere, but I also felt like I was missing something? It ends in a somewhat inconclusive way in which I'm not really sure what the author was trying to say. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, and Mental illness

Moderate: Body horror, Dysphoria, and Medical content

Minor: Dementia and Eating disorder

alexisgarcia's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

i loved the premise, the writing, the character development, etc. but i feel like there was a tiny bit left to be desired in terms of the ending. however, i do not know if more would actually increase the amount i enjoyed this or totally destroy the ambiguity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Chronic illness, Grief, Mental illness, and Sexual content

its_gracielou's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This hurt to read. It’s wrought with tension and grief. I don’t know that I could in good faith recommend you read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Minor: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Dysphoria