Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Severance by Ling Ma

10 reviews

aklovekorn's review

reflective tense slow-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Pandemic/Epidemic, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Pregnancy, Death, Toxic relationship, Child death, and Terminal illness

crimsonreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I...did not...expect this...

Something about the way the first paragraphs of the synopsis are written made me think this would have sarcastic, dark, millennial humor in is plot... But instead it truly makes you feel and think.
Obviously this whole adventure hits WAY different in a post covid-19 world and I think that's to it's benefit. While I'm certain the story still gripped and engrossed in 2018, having actually lived the fear of people and air and jobs and future and closures and emptiness really makes the book's feeling real.
More real, even then the reality. I felt more loneliness reading Candace's experience in her NY office than I did going to and from my own city job on empty El cars in 2020. It's surreal and I couldn't stop reading. 

As a note, Ma doesn't utilize quotation marks for any of her dialogue. I think I would have going this a problem in another person's writing but there was a sense of memory in the way Severance is written that made the lack of quotes feel right. Like nothing Candace is saying is correct enough to be quoted. It's paraphrased or untrustworthy because it's only how she recalls it and not for sure how it happened. It really does fit the vibe of the story and only caught me up about 4 or 5 times in total. But I know this might be a deal breaker for others, so I'm letting you know.

But I do highly recommend this. I had been interested in it for a while and it lived up to expectations and then some!

Only reason this doesn't have 5 stars is because of that ending! I flipped pages wondering if I somehow skipped something or had some stuck together! I have to know more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, Bullying, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

dr_kat's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

I read this tender, troubling, complex, engaging novel and it wedged into the folds of my brain and wouldn’t shake out. Then the world shut down and a plague worked it’s way into our lives. All I could think about was this book. Weirdly, it helped to see how the protagonist handled her situation; her trials and troubles. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, Gun violence, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

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

kather_doc's review

challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Confinement, Pregnancy, Drug use, Death, Body horror, and Gaslighting

josi1911's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

I normally never read dystopian (if this book can be called that after we all have experienced COVID), but since it was for a book club, I was rather excited. The Beginning until maybe the 17/18 chapter were strong, but then it turned into the typical dystopian story of someone trying to escape their group mixed with cult-esque leadership.
The ending was such a letdown and the themes the book tried to tackle weren't fleshed out enough. How did the Fever transmit? It can't only be fungal, or at least it seemed to have to do with routine, nostalgia and remembering. But I can only say those keywords, because the story lacked fulfillment/tying up the loose ends and like I already said delving deeper into the social criticism it started.

The Author has sometimes beautiful prose with a minimalist but hard hitting tendency and some of the scenes (especially the gruesome ones) felt all too real. So it's sad that that wasn't utilized more to really make strong points regarding the mentioned themes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Medical content, Gaslighting, Drug use, Gun violence, Gore, Violence, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicide and Vomit

bluebrooks's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

this book is gonna stick with me for a long time. i've never related to a character more than candace, and i feel like i really understand her. the only critical things i have to say about the ending are that it felt rushed and i wish ling ma would have developed candace's character just a bit more. there were definitely a few loose ends with this book and the ending is pretty open - ma makes allusions to passages from the beginning of the novel in the final pages, which helps brain everything full circle. still, i was left wanting more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Abandonment, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, and Grief

Minor: Abortion, Vomit, and Alcohol

aandromeda's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

Thank you Ling Ma for reminding me that I love to read.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

maziodynes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

Absolutely stunning. This is the next great American novel for milennials living through a global pandemic. It puts things into sharp perspective for those of us continuing to push through corporate jobs while the world feels like it's crumbling. The story is superbly executed, poignant, and simultaneously reverent and mocking of American culture. I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long, long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Grief, Gaslighting, and Drug use

booksandmo's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Sexual content

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Gaslighting, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit