Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld

131 reviews

annniina98's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Grief, Incest, and Child death

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Abortion

erikwmj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Child abuse, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Antisemitism, Blood, Abortion, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Body shaming, and Ableism

bumble_abi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

The time I spent reading this kept flipping between underwhelm and admiration - completely unlike anything I've read before and increasingly unhinged (but that's the point, right?). Not a huge amount actually happens but I kept reading because the tone is one of suspension, emotion unresolved, and I had to know where it landed. Fortunately it DID land somewhere (I did wonder if Rijneveld was going to leave us hanging there, it would have been a valid artistic choice imo) and when it did it totally winded me. A deeply uncomfortable novel punctuated by moments of brilliant sunlight, wildly sad and grotesque and somehow shining for it all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Animal cruelty, Child death, Body horror, and Animal death

Moderate: Suicide

judythedreamer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Self harm, Vomit, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Grief, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Excrement, Incest, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Suicide, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

msaari's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

 

Marieke Lucas Rijneveld (s. 1991) on alankomaalainen kirjailija, joka voitti Illan epämukavuus -esikoisromaanillaan kansainvälisen Booker -palkinnon vuonna 2020. Rijneveld oli sekä ensimmäinen alankomaalainen että ensimmäinen muunsukupuolinen Booker-voittaja. Teoksen on suomentanut Taru Luojola. 

 

Uskonnollisessa perheessä maaseudulla kasvanut Rijneveld kertoo esikoisteoksessaan hartaan uskovaisesta maalaisperheestä. Perheen elämä hajoaa, kun kirjan kertojan, kymmenvuotiaan Jas-tytön, vanhin veli Matthies lähtee eräänä joulukuun aamuna luistelemaan joelle ja hukkuu. Tämä tapaus suistaa koko perheen raiteiltaan. 

 

Kirjan lähtökohta on lohduton, eikä meno siitä parane. Kertojan maailma on tuskaa täynnä, eikä perheestä juuri apua heru. Perheen vanhemmat käsittelevät tuskaa omin tavoin: äiti nälkiinnyttää itseään, isä vetäytyy maatilan töihin. Kun kylän lapset ovat auttamassa vaeltavia rupikonnia ja sammakoita pääsemään veteen turvaan, Jas nappaa taskuunsa kaksi rupikonnaa ja pistää ne huoneessaan lypsyämpäriin. 

 

”Pidä sinä vain lukua”, äiti sanoo ja kääntyy ympäri. Hän on pian yhtä laiha kuin ladon seinään nojaava lantaharava. Vasta nyt ymmärrän, miksei hän enää syö. Obbe kertoi sammakkovaelluksen aikana, että talviunen jälkeen rupikonnat syövät vasta kun ovat paritelleet, eivät aiemmin. Isä ja äiti eivät enää kosketa toisiaan, eivät edes ohimennen. Se tarkoittaa, etteivät he myöskään enää parittele. 

 

Jas ajattelee, että jos rupikonnatkin parittelevat, niin parittelevat myös isä ja äiti. Sen jälkeen kaikki on paremmin. Jas itse oireilee monin tavoin: hän ei suostu enää riisumaan punaista takkiaan eikä käy vessassa. Isoveli Obbesta tulee kammottavan julma ja Jas hyväksyntää hakiessaan tekee kaiken, mitä isoveli ehdottaa. Pikkusisko Hannan kanssa Jas suunnittelee pakenemista joen yli vastarannalle. 

 

Rijneveld kuvaa kirjassa kammottavan tuskaisen maailman. Kirja pursuaa groteskeja ja ällöttäviä yksityiskohtia. Jokunen sisältövaroituskin on paikallaan: luvassa on muun muassa julmuutta eläimiä kohtaan, lasten kaltoinkohtelua, monenlaista lasten välistä seksuaalisuutta ja viitteitä pedofiliaan. Jos tuntuu, ettei kirja voi käydä enää raskaammaksi ja inhottavammaksi, Rijneveld keksii kyllä jotain uutta. 

 

Äidin äänessä on enemmän säröjä kuin kanikopin seinässä rakoja. Pidätän hengitystä. Märkä nalle rintaa vasten saa takin kosteaksi, nallen pää riippuu velttona. Hetken mietin, kertoikohan Hitler äidilleen mitä suunnitteli tekevänsä ja että siitä tulisi sotkuista. En ole kertonut kenellekään, kuinka silloin rukoilin, että Dieuwertje saisi elää. Oliko kymmenes vitsaus minun vikani? 

 

Ei siis mitään hyvänmielenkirjallisuutta, tämä. Syyllisyys painaa Jasia, hän kun meni rukoilemaan Jumalalta, että tämä ottaisi Jasin Dieuwertje-kanin sijasta isoveljen. Syyllisyys saa Jasin sitten oireilemaan monin tavoin. Rijneveldin kirja on yhtä kärsimystä ja pahaa mieltä. Suosittelen sitä varauksella, mutta jos kammottavuuksien virran vain sietää, saa kyllä mieleenpainuvan lukukokemuksen. Rijneveld kirjoittaa hyvin ja Luojola on saanut tekstin soimaan myös suomeksi. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Pedophilia

ficteon's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

A very, very uncomfortable read. The grossest book I've ever read. Though I think I'm excusing a lot of the gross behavior in it as it's spookymonth and I'm reading it as a horror Halloween book, but it's gross. If I read this in March I'd probably hate it. 
Still it made me keep reading to find out what happens to the child mc. I also get why it was gross in someway, as it is meant to be uncomfortable and traumatic, and it's about what grief does to you if you handle it the wrong way. Though.. why would you ever want your name to be on this book? I wonder why she wrote this. 

It was still interesting, but for it's contents I don't think I can give it higher than a 3, but also not lower as the story did make me invested, and it was a horror read as said before. If you plan on reading this, do it now and not in other months. Or if you love gross books, go ahead, this one is really gross.

Though the Dutch culture, and Christian Dutch culture was fun to read throughout this book as someone who comes from that culture. Lot of recognizable things mostly from my siblings memories. I think my brother is born the same year as the MC. I would've been born around the time of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Grief, and Incest

Moderate: Pedophilia, Cursing, and Gaslighting

Minor: Blood

sndrspk's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Abandonment, and Sexual content

jytteanne's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Violence, Vomit, Abortion, Excrement, Grief, and Self harm

stockholmsara's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Rape, Torture, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Mental illness, Grief, and Gore

leahhateshardbacks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.0

I should start by saying this book has a million trigger warnings - please check them out before picking up if you need to do so. I was shocked by the amount of gruesome and traumatic things that popped up in here and for someone who is fainter of heart I imagine this could be distressing.
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After their brother dies, Jas and her 2 remaining siblings experience grief in different (but equally unsettling) ways. Jas becomes anxious, compulsive, and submissive; Hanna becomes a pleasure and thrill seeker; Obbe becomes violent and sexually abusive. This book suggests the strange and varied ways grief can manifest itself in a cold and controlled environment, with emotionally unavailable parents and a fruitless and frigid landscape.
•••
What happens in this book is nothing short of fucked up. I thought I became somewhat desensitised to these sort of events but then something even more fucked up than the last thing would happen and my apparent comfort would be obliterated. I did not have a nice time reading this. I was uncomfortable about 80% of the time. It was certainly unique and perhaps I would return to it in a few years time - but I need the shock of not knowing anything about this before reading it to settle for a while. 
•••
Amongst all the chaos there are some achingly true comments on grief and loss, my favourite, "Every loss contains all previous attempts to hang on to something you didn't want to let go of anyway, from a marble bag filled with the most beautiful marbles and rare shooters, to my brother." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Incest, Sexual assault, and Animal cruelty