Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld

95 reviews

floorw25's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Self harm, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Racism, Incest, Eating disorder, Death, Child death, Suicide, Grief, and Emotional abuse

janethevirgin46's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-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

This book was weird. Wildly uncomfortable if not absolutely disgusting. The themes made me nauseous and certain scenes made me put the book down for a bit. Besides the content of the book, I felt some wording was off. It might have been the translation I got but you could tell it was their first novel. It had too many metaphors and similes, it got to feel repetitive. It’s an ok book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Death, Abandonment, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide, Incest, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Excrement, and Mental illness

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Animal death

justsayfit's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This is such a well written but highly traumatic book. It deals with family death, depression, eating disorders, abuse, religion and suicide. It is impossible to say that it is a joy to read. In the beginning, it is almost charming to read the ideas of a young girl and her outlook on the world even while she is trying to deal with the death of her brother which she thinks that she is responsible for. The whole family spirals into depression and she tries so hard to make her sense of it. Because her mother in now anorectic and probably a closet alcoholic who drinks in the Celler, the child somehow thinks that the mother is hiding Jews in the cellar and is giving them the food that she herself is not eating. There numbers of such strange thoughts. The child longs so much for consolation and warmth, that she would do just about anything to get any, but her parents are too distracted with their own sorrow and are a bit too “Protestant” to give warmth. Only work gives solace. So many things occur that made me physically and viscerally ill. In the end, I just wanted it all to be over with and, I guess, that was the goal. The reader has no choice but to totally empathise with the child and agree to the only solution that she could devise. It does not end well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Excrement, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Antisemitism, Bullying, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Animal cruelty, Child death, Grief, Physical abuse, and Self harm

bridrew's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Death, Excrement, Eating disorder, Child death, Animal death, Grief, Torture, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death of parent and Pedophilia

badmom's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

3.25

A story of extreme grief told through the eyes of a young, confused, and increasingly unstable person. Some instances of lovely description but on the whole a disconcerting and ultimately distressing examination of a family that cannot put itself back together after a series of tragedies. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Incest, and Body shaming

Moderate: Incest, Abandonment, Suicide, Eating disorder, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Excrement

melissaroos's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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

3.75

The book made me uncomfortable, true to it's title. But I somehow did kind of like it. The writing style sucks you into the book and you do want to know what the characters will do. It's not for the faint of heart

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Death, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide, Mental illness, Child abuse, Self harm, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Incest

maya7's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Excrement, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, and Animal death

Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts

hotgirleliott's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, and Incest

jiscoo's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense

4.25

shoutout to my calvinist upbringing for making this book make way more sense than it had any right to

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Vomit, Excrement, Grief, Suicide, Animal cruelty, and Sexual content

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