Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite

46 reviews

eris_in_chains's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Thoroughly enjoyed this book though I must say that it's very much a product of its time (cannot tell whether the author intented to fetishize East Asian men here.) An interesting Jeffrey Dahmer fanfic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Terminal illness, Body horror, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Death, and Rape

Moderate: Police brutality, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Physical abuse

jully_bean's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Racial slurs, Violence, Rape, Suicide, Sexual content, Body horror, Dysphoria, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Murder, Excrement, Addiction, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Police brutality, and Terminal illness

sigynmoon's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide, Pedophilia, Homophobia, and Infidelity

Minor: Racism, Police brutality, Incest, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Racial slurs

issymaae's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Homophobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Vomit, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

agravereader's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

This book is SO fucked up. So, so, so fucked up. 

I loved it. Not sure what that means for me.

It was character-driven in a way I absolutely cannot resist. Four points of view from four (arguably three) terribly flawed and deranged men in their own ways, but with such love amd obsession interwoven that I felt... something? Toward them. Additionally, the AIDS commentary, specifically how the disease and the tragedy of the people who contracted HIV were treated by society was not what I was expecting from this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Body horror, Blood, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Racial slurs, Incest, Homophobia, Rape, Murder, Kidnapping, Drug use, Vomit, Terminal illness, Racism, Grief, Gore, Drug abuse, Death, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Alcohol, Violence, and Torture

venpyre's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

It feels odd to say, but at its loamy, rotting, blackened core, Exquisite Corpse is a love story. 

It was like…. if you were to take a metal detector to a polluted swamp. You’d have to drudge through the gunk and bear the claustrophobic humidity at the chance of finding even a bit of treasure. But somehow that makes what you <i>do</i> find all the more valuable? Not that anyone would advise you to go metal detecting in a swamp but I digress. 

I feel like this book has aged particularly well in time for our era. In a post-NBC-Hannibal world we can more openly study depictions of love and lust in literature that splinter into death, obsession, and the need to consume/meld into one.

Brite’s ability to conjure these characters, the vilest people you could never dream up in your worst nightmares, is nothing short of astounding. Without comparing the texts too heavily (as I believe they exist for starkly different reasons) Andrew’s inner monologue reminded me somewhat of the eloquent but absolutely atrocious musings of Nabokov’s infamous protagonist, Humbert Humbert. The gleam of poetry and intelligence in the prose is enough to propel you forward despite the horrors you have to endure on page. 

I wish the book was comprised mostly of Andrew’s perspective rather than switching between his and a summary of Jay. I did, however, appreciate Tran’s chapters, as it humanized him and made him much more than just an object/victim. 

That being said, I’m not sure how to parse the descriptions of Asian men in this novel. While not excusing the racist remarks of the book’s characters, I did have to remind myself it was written in the 90s, and depicts the time period faithfully. The way Tran is described is undoubtedly fetishistic. That may be the point. EC treads a fine line that unfortunately holds it back from landing its otherwise graceful pirouette.

Not sure if I knew EC was splatterpunk before diving in, but I’m glad I waited until I was a little older and more versed in horror before reading it. Trigger warning for about everything imaginable and then some. Your mileage may vary to the extreme. If you feel like you can find beauty in near senseless chaos, and have the stomach for its graphic descriptions, you might enjoy Exquisite Corpse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Torture, Homophobia, Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Body horror, Blood, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Self harm, Confinement, Medical content, Excrement, and Outing

Minor: Vomit, Eating disorder, and Police brutality

deitydad's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I can't really say I hated the book since I stayed up all night reading it. I'd been warned that the contents of this book were bad, but I never felt myself particularly grossed out. Was I often stressed? Yes, but that's to be expected. 
The epilogue really gave this book the closure it needed. I was most fascinated with Luke and his story, and it was him that I felt most sad for in the end. He was incredibly flawed, but I suppose we could blame it all on the black, looming cloud marked "AIDS". 
As a member of the LGBT+ community, I have a particular... softness you could say? with the AIDS epidemic. It was prevalent in this story, yet skulked in the background like a third, hidden character in each chapter. 
Despite this being about murdering, I thought most of the characters were likeable. Am I going to leave this book feeling sorry for them or reasoning with them though? Absolutely not.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Police brutality, Torture, Violence, Death, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Murder, Gore, and Drug use

menderash's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

 Mr Brite has a knack for writing books about horrible people doing horrible things, often for little to no reason, with minimal plot except to make the next horrible thing happen. His main characters are all murderers, rapists, cannibals, necrophiles, or the people who love them anyway. The prose is a means to an end; the end being the reader's hopeful erotic satisfaction of reading someone get nearly decapitated in vivid, lovingly described detail.

But you know what? Brite is such an emotionally charged, evocative, talented writer, that I can't help but be hypnotized by his ability to make me sit down and devour a novel in one sitting. He makes me care about the few morally sound characters even though I know something unspeakable is about to happen to them. He explores the nuance of monstrosity in his uhh. Less morally sound characters.

I think my most sound, least hypocritical criticisms of Brite's work is a) his exploitation of real victims of real tragedies and b) his handling or lack thereof of characters of color. The few non-white characters in his work are relegated to the occasional dead body, future victim, or stereotyped backdrop. Then again, considering the kind of character Brite centers as his protagonists, do I really want him, as a white man, to portray a character of color that way? I'm fine with Brite's beloved monsters being mostly white men.

TL;DR: Absolutely disgusting. Awesome ride. I've read all my Brite books I own at least twice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Terminal illness, Blood, Chronic illness, Addiction, Death, Torture, Cannibalism, Homophobia, Violence, Sexual violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Police brutality and Incest

racl's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.25

It's not an easy read, and not one I can recommend to many people in good conscience. It's graphic in many ways - gore, sex, disease, anger - all of which is beautifully and carefully written. Each character feels distinct and well formed as they enter the story and begin to intertwine with each other throughout the novel. I didn't know much going in, but I enjoyed the reality and different perspectives of gay men dealing with the AIDS epidemic (and how it wasn't the motive for either of the murderers). I felt it was handled well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Death, Drug use, Rape, Sexual content, Gore, Grief, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Excrement, Vomit, Cancer, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Incest, Police brutality, Hate crime, Misogyny, and Pandemic/Epidemic

remghoul's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Body horror, Torture, Violence, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

Minor: Police brutality, Racial slurs, Cursing, and Outing