Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Bálnahullás by Daniel Kraus

27 reviews

crykea's review against another edition

challenging informative 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? Yes

5.0

This is the kind of book I've just finished but is not finished with me. I will be thinking if this for a long time and have already pre-ordered the paperback so that I may one day own a copy for myself

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide and Terminal illness

gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

How I saw it described: "Man would rather be literally swallowed by a whale than go to therapy”. 

It was enjoyable for the most part, but I don’t think it was my cup of tea. I can see this really working for others; the writing was great, the descriptions vivid and visceral, the science was fascinating, and it had family drama to boot. 

Whalefall is a “scientifically accurate thriller” about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by a sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. it’s claustrophobic and horrific. But in large part it’s about the relationship between a father/son, intolerable grief, forgiveness and survival. 

For me: it sucked to listen to all of the abuse that was directed specifically at Jay from his father Mitt. It was textbook narcissistic behavior of singling someone out, and the rest of his community though Mitt was the greatest. While important for both the narrative/themes and people to read about… it’s usually something I avoid because it can be triggering. 

I really dislike when stories take somewhat abusive/toxic people and try to redeem them in death. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Vomit

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

tortle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Pandemic/Epidemic

cluelessavian's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism and Child abuse

Minor: Car accident

Father against "Fragile Masculinity," Acid Burns

rejectscanon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-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

Ruined me in the best way. Got a copy from the library and regretted it exactly 43 pages in because I wanted to highlight a line, but couldn’t. Cried a lot, and would read this book again in a heartbeat. Highly recommend, but be mindful of possible triggers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sofiaaaaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative 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

4.0

This book hooked me from the start and kept me on my toes throughout. The story itself felt like a mix of “Life of Pi”, “Castaway”, and “127 hours”. Lots more gore than I was expecting, but I felt it added to the experience of being inside the whale itself. The family dynamics were heartbreaking and Jay’s internal struggle was very raw and real. All in all there was a lot to this story that kept me coming back for more, plus the short chapters and flashbacks made it a quick read. I’m a sucker for deep-ocean stories and this transported me there, very solid read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

evanmather's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Death of parent

sgatz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is an achingly beautiful book. Cannot wait to reread. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicide, Medical content, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism

atalea's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

theseaghost's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative fast-paced

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

2.0

I was excited for this because I’d heard good things and have a tattoo of a sperm whale on my arm. But it was a series of wildly improbable events with paper thin characters and a cloying attention at sentimentality that falls entirely flat. I think this might have been better served as straight up young adult or teen fiction or maybe a graphic novel or something. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicide