Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Severance by Ling Ma

44 reviews

darthbiblia's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Whoa. This book came out years before COVID, but the descriptions of the early stages were so uncanny. The dry humor and office politics, concerns about foreign labor and gender issues. I loved the story of her immigrant parents assimilating in the United States, then bringing her as a small child. This was a beautiful story, and I was sad that it ended. I look forward to more from this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Death, Sexism, Vomit, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Pregnancy, Grief, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Terminal illness

fernash's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Murder, Sexual content, Body horror, Gun violence, Bullying, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicide, and Blood

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Dementia, and Death

haleybre's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Body horror, Pregnancy, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Dementia

aharper's review against another edition

funny mysterious

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Gun violence

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this. It's literary sci-fi with plenty of commentary on immigration and late stage capitalism. I really loved the writing style and the descriptions of places. While I never completely love an open ending, I thought it worked quite well here. I wish I'd felt a little more attached to Candace but I was still gripped throughout. I haven't read many books like it but the most obvious comparison is Station Eleven, which I'm now considering re-reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, and Chronic illness

ktdakotareads's review

dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Body horror, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail

iro_san's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, Vomit, Cursing, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Gun violence, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, and Grief

antoniag's review

dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Body horror and Gun violence

Minor: Death of parent and Dementia

mirandyli's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Cute and reflective twist on a zombie apocalypse story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abandonment, Body horror, Death of parent, Death, and Drug use

mirrorbug's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Somehow I got it into my head that this was a tragicomedy when that is not what it was. Humor was not in the forefront, but it had its moments. I'd like to read it again without that preconception. Still really enjoyed it. Candace is a character I grew to respect more than anything and the worldbuilding was fantastic. It's crazy this book was released preCOVID, you definitely see some similarities there. I think the parts of seeing the apocalypse start to unfold felt so realistic and were definitely my favorite chapters in the book. Definitely worth the read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Racism, Chronic illness, Grief, and Body horror