Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno

13 reviews

kirahaycock21's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

This book was actually super well written. I literally couldn’t put it down- I read it in one sitting. It was confusing though, but I think that was deliberate on the authors part. There was a lot of symbolism, and it could be interpreted a lot of different ways. But I loved the simple writing style and the way it addressed the feelings behind losing a loved one. Some parts of it were genuinely scary too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Cursing, Gore, Animal death, Body horror, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, Death of parent, Hate crime, and Cancer

Minor: Rape, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Vomit

nithya_natalya's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This book was written in second person (the narrator is writing as if he is speaking to his wife, so her refers to the reader as 'you'). I thought this was a really interesting way of making the reader connect with the narrator. As the reader, you're watching the narrator cope with "your" death, which makes the whole thing more unsettling. I also love horror that is cyclical, which I think is a key component of horror, and also of grief. Not the scariest thing I've ever read, but I did spook myself while reading this at night. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Gore, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Death of parent

samanthaleereads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Xenophobia and Alcoholism

catapocalypse's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

It's a hard decision for rating; I'd say 4 stars for execution, but 4.5 is closer for my own personal enjoyment of the book, so I've landed on 4.25 stars.

This is an intense exploration of grief about a man dealing both with the death of his wife as well as with a malevolent force hounding him. It weaves in a variety of other timely anxieties, like always-listening electronic assistants, the many angles of the relentless media cycle, and being a bit disconnected from one's own heritage.

Main thing I want to note is that the first 25-30 pages are slower than one might expect, but then the speculative bits start seeping in, and things really pick up speed as it goes. So I recommend sticking with it, even if the beginning doesn't quite grab you!

Other than that, the ending felt a little weak compared to how hard things go in the middle. It feels as if there are a number of compelling ways things could have gone, but things unravel without pursuing any of them in a satisfying way.

This is a great debut, and I'm eager to read more from this author!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Racism, and Rape

charliecarey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

There should be more books where the main character just pisses himself when faced with a monster

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Grief, Suicide attempt, Medical content, and Suicide

Moderate: Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Alcohol

batcaves's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

clar_ph's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Gore, Body horror, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Vomit, Addiction, and Cancer

opossumble's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Cursing, Medical content, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Deportation, Drug use, and Terminal illness

lilacwhisker's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

An interesting read. I thought the way the author describes death and grief was great, but a lot of the time this book is also confusing. I assumed there would be more of a focus on the Itza, and that this would be a creepy story about a haunted home device or something, but it’s not really talked about for most of the book. Overall, not too bad.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Sexual content

emilym13's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Holy $@*%, this book is something! It’s compelling, haughting, surreal, and completely gutting. There is a lot of meat to this story, with lots of symbols and themes to analyze. It’s the kind of book I wish I could have read with someone so we could analyze and discuss it together. Yet it never feels dense or hard to read.

The most challenging aspect of this book is how sad and emotional it is. The grief felt by the characters is so strong that is seems to seep out of the pages themselves. This book is heavy, dark, and emotional; and thus may not be the best choice for all readers or all occasions. However, the sadness is this book does not feel exploitative, over the top, or pointless; it is not sad for sadnesses sake and there is a lot the reader takes away with them aside from a good cry. As someone who can struggle to get though sad stories, this one was definitely worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Sexual content and Racism

Those who are struggling with suicidal ideation/tendencies should reconsider reading this book