Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Confinement'
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
23 reviews
ursimae's review against another edition
The premise is sounds so good, but the execution was terrible. It's so bad that I dont think I'll even try reading another book by this author.
It's laughable that this book was supposedly written as like a love letter to his mom considering what happens in it.
Sorry for the rant, but I can't with this book.
Let me list out a few of the transgressions:
- Weak writing. Outside of the horror scenes, the prose felt sloppy.
- So many racist stereotypes. The only reoccurring black character is given the "mammy" role. The next mention of other POC are shown as servants to the rich white people of the town during parties. From there, the stereotypes just continue. At points, it seemed like Grady was opening good dialogue on how racism impacts black communities in regards to their valid concerns being downplayed and ignored. However, he kept dropping the ball with it. It's like he placed the talking point in front of us then swept it aside before we could fully digest it and have a meaningful talk.
- Why the hell does the son love Nazis? The kid is obsessed and idolizes them. It literally plays no part in the story. Why'd you add that Grady? It wasn't necessary. Why you keep bringing up Nazis. Also, why was the MC totally cool about it? Huh? Grady, why was everyone okay with Nazis? It wasn't plot relevant.
- SO MUCH GASLIGHTING. Omfg, it made me want to rip out my hair.
- Hey, Grady...why did you write about the MC gaining 11 lbs as if she gained 200????? You just threw that part in there for what?
- Hey Grady... What's with the graphic retelling of a rape scene? Why?
- Hey.... Grady... Why did you have to include so many child sexual assault scenes... Story would've been totally cool without that. Really wasn't necessary.
The MC attempts suicide and its treated by everyone (even the MC) like some petty "fuck you" to her husband. - Also, there's just a lot of domestic abuse.
- I was 64% through when I DNFed and literally, never once was there a part about women becoming empowered and badass, taking on vampires. It was just 7+ hours (audiobook listener here) of a woman being severely abused.
- Not one character is likeable.
- All the other women in this book are just misogynistic stereotypes. None of them have any actual depth of character and feel very flat.
- The biggest horror wasn't the vampire stuff, but the husband, omfg they were the real villains.
apparently at the end, she only gets a divorce from this dude... I feel like she should get to kill her husband for the shit he did to her. Also, none of the other women get to fix their abusive relationships?
There is probably more than I could say, but I've ranted about this long enough.
There is very important commentary to be had with the topics of this book that would be awesome to explore further, but it only comes across as 400+ pages of women being repeatedly abused, racist, sexist, and outright terrible characters.
Graphic: Classism, Death, Body horror, Blood, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Self harm, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Bullying, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
kk_gotit_goinon's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Dementia, Medical content, Terminal illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Grief, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Violence, Cursing, Mental illness, and Misogyny
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I’m glad that I read it because I was interested in reading a few books by this author but I don’t think they will be for me after all.
Minor: Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Animal death, Classism, Gaslighting, Gore, Terminal illness, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Bullying, Chronic illness, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, and Violence
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Patricia's son spends the majority of the book unhealthily attached to WW2 and Nazism. All he talks about prior to
There are 2 notably gory scenes. One involves rats and features dog vs rats violence and also rats snapping at the two people involved like a stereotypical school of piranha. I was not at all pleased to read about the snapping of necks and chunks taken out. The other gory scene is at the end of the book and I won't spoil it. If you can handle the rat scene you will be able to handle this scene too. It is slightly more 'meat processing' than medical. One other scene that is a bit intense is
I did not appreciate how the majority of the victims were children, especially at the reveal that the bite creates a sexual euphoria that leads to addiction. This is described in detail for two characters, one who is an adult and the other who is in their late teens or early twenties.
Just about all the male characters embodied stereotypes and were as present in the story as they were in their kids' lives. They either drank, beat their wives, had an abusive amount of control over their wives, or gaslit the ever-loving joy out of their wives.
The book club are all fair-weather friends. The husbands band together to gaslight and call Patricia crazy and despite the proof they had in their hands at the time, all of the rest of the book club agree. Then at the end while four are struggling in the fight against evil one of the others shows up like she is the saving grace, despite doing next to nothing to help for the entire book. By the end all the surviving book club members seem to still be meeting up as if all were normal. There was small implication that something is going on with the dog, Patricia, and her daughter but it may have been meant as a 'some wounds never heal' kind of thing.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gore, Rape, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault, Child death, Gaslighting, Suicide, Antisemitism, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Vomit, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Racism, Confinement, Medical content, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Dementia, Death, and Classism
Minor: Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
Several characters are stated to have committed suicide in minor detail. One character attempts, also in minor detail.mreads03's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Racism, Suicide, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Child death, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, and Confinement
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Death of parent
moonlitemuseum's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
There are elements of this book I disliked, but they were small enough that they didn't spoil my overall enjoyment. (Some parts that I was dissatisfied with might have even made the book stronger in the end. I'm not sure how satisfyingly the book could wrap up the ambient half-arcs of Patricia's children, and although I thought it unnecessary for the book to linger so long and lewdly on the rape segments I won't deny that they were effectively grim.)
A fast, exciting, and deliciously tawdry read that made me excited to read more. I can't give much higher praise than that!
Graphic: Death, Violence, Dementia, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Racism, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Misogyny, Addiction, and Sexism
Minor: Religious bigotry and Animal death
cuddlygryphon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Self harm, Blood, Body horror, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Sexism, Racism, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Alcohol, Child death, Medical content, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Mental illness
katrinasherise's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
4.25
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Medical content, Addiction, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Mental illness, Rape, Stalking, Child death, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Gore, Blood, and Gaslighting
huldasif's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Rape, Racism, Death, Gore, Violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Animal death, Drug use, Excrement, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Hate crime and Infidelity
pumpkinbisque's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
seriously though this book was so fun i loved it <3 looked up the author and was literally shocked to see that a man wrote it so uh congrats mr. hendrix this was a well-written book from the perspective of a woman. would recommend to horror fans and those who are tired of seeing “women’s work” devalued.
ps fuck all the husbands except horse i <3 horse
Graphic: Death, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Gore, and Child death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Animal death, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Body horror
Minor: Grief, Classism, Confinement, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, and Death of parent