Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

John Dies @ the End by David Wong

4 reviews

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.75

It’s like if Thomas Pynch wrote a crass version of “Supernatural” set in the same universe as “Welcome to Night Vale,” with the occasional visits from Rick and Morty. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicide, Cannibalism, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Medical content, and Death of parent

There is a variety of explicit subjects in this book, but be aware of exploding dogs, siblings dying, an obscene amount of flatulence, racial stereotypes, death having no consequence, reality being malleable, and frat boys using multiple slurs and politically incorrect phrases.

gawdz0rz's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

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

3.5

the book was pretty funny. the story was weird but interesting. will probably read the next book. 

very obviously written in 2007, especially with its usage of ableist and homophobic slurs and how edgy the characters were. also feels like the author just really wanted to use the n-slur and found excuses to do so??

does dude have a thing for farting? he talks about it so much. like, way too much. 

the columbine comparison was off because the columbine kids were not bullied, they were the bullies. 

not great to have the alien language compared to hebrew!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Excrement

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Suicide, Xenophobia, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia

tons of bugs. roaches and spiders.

pinkmalady's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

Laugh out loud funny, psychologically horrifying, and gut-wrenchingly volatile... This is the exact kind of thing I will be thinking about for a long time. The way it handles mental illness and trauma targeted me specifically in such a deeply visceral way... The narration perfectly captures how it feels to lose your mind.

I adored the characters and their relationships. While I went into this mostly blind, I knew prior that

Amy and Dave would end up together. I'm honestly surprised at how well their relationship and their respective traumas relative to their relationship were fleshed out. It absolutely makes you feel for these two. Especially when Amy's life is on the line.

This book stressed and stresses me out. I'm afraid that if I think too hard about it I'll start spiraling... Going in, I had the feeling this book would rearrange my brain chemistry, and I believe it didn't fail. It's utterly chilling, and I don't usually spook easily when it comes to horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Xenophobia, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Antisemitism

yikesofikeso's review against another edition

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

2.0

While under the guise of comedy, Wong loves using slurs and racist/sexist/ableist language to make a generally uncomfortable story. I was especially uncomfortable when he assumed a girl was mentally retarded and hated her and mocked her relentlessly for years, only to realize she was perfectly neurotypical and immediately be in love with her and have her love him back. Now that’s good writing. Yikes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, and Lesbophobia