Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Southern Gothic - Das Grauen wohnt nebenan by Grady Hendrix

44 reviews

cuddlygryphon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Dementia

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol

huldasif's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

This book is kind of like The Stepford Wives meets Salem's Lot meets Fried Green Tomatoes, but it was funnier.  The first chapter was hilarious in fact. I was laughing my head off, it was so funny. I was a little disappointed the book didn't continue on like that, but the book was still good. It became less funny as the horror built up, naturally. It would have been too much of a reprieve and taken away the suspense if it had kept on being so funny I guess. Plus, it just doesn't do to be laughing while children are dying on the next page. It was more creepy than scary though. The husbands were just as creepy as the vampire actually, which I thought was pretty clever of the author. I almost wanted to do them off too, they made me so mad. I'll definitely be reading My Best Friend's Exorcism too! But I sure hope Grady Hendrix writes a comedy if she hasn't already, because she is the funniest writer I ever came across. That first chapter was the best.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Hate crime and Infidelity

aseel_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.25

I was captivated by the plot of this book, the writing was so good. I really liked the characters and I am glad about how it ended (wish some people died though). Will say, it is horrifyingly graphic for certain parts, would not recommend reading if you have a light stomach. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

falonmansfield's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Vomit, and Antisemitism

purplatypus's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious 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

4.5

This book is INTENSE. Kinda hit all of the trigger warnings on the way down. I was surprised how much I liked the author's characterization of the women, though.

But damn, I was so ready for Patricia's husband to bite the dust. He was on my last nerve.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

ugh1ife's review against another edition

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

4.25

This book was a ride! First thing to know, these women are SOUTHERN. I was cringing a lot at the blatant classicism/racism/misogyny/etc. But the book did a decent job at criticizing it. AND BOY does the black community get the short end of the stick. Also, this book does kind of fall into the trope of having a black character (Mrs. Greene) do the brunt of the work especially in the aftermath. She also has to be the one to point out the obvious instances of prejudice which the other characters acknowledge in the moment but don’t really do anything about it?

At the end they admit that the black community was hurt the most but it’s in passing. And then that’s it. Like I think it’s meant to reflect that these characters are prejudiced and stuff, as a lot of rich suburb southerners are. There is also graphic violence depicted against black characters and straight up racism. So, this particular aspect fell short for me. Also, I am not black so I can only say the issues that I found with it

All the characters are extremely flawed, and so much of it had me furious (especially the husbands). It was also a deep dive into what being a “housewife” is really like and the learned helplessness of these women who have/had accepted their roles. I really think this book is for the parents: it does a great job at detailing the common worries that parents experience and their short comings. 

A short summary of the book?: a group of southern ladies form a book club that follows true crime novels. Patricia, a typical housewife in a strained marriage, befriends a newcomer to their tight night community. However, she begins to notice strange things happening and becomes increasingly convinced that their little home is in danger. 

The sexual content was a bit hard to get through, but I understand why it was there so I don’t really fault the book on it. Just be warned! 

SO SO SO MANY TRIGGER WARNINGS. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism

lubilu42's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

This book was super engaging, even though it was somehow very repetitive. It was also much gorier than I feel like I needed it to be, although I found I didn’t really mind because of how fast the story moved through it, not past it, through it. I enjoyed this book and will read from the author again. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Racism, Excrement, Medical content, and Classism

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Grief, and Pregnancy

squid_ears's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

This book is a worthy spiritual successor to Bram Stroker’s Dracula. It expands on the themes of the vampire as the greedy capitalist and the sexual predator, with commentary on systemic racism and how even white people who consider themselves non-racist are complicit. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Excrement, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Lots of imagery of rats, cockroaches, and other vermin doing some pretty fucked up stuff to people.