Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Doloriad by Missouri Williams

19 reviews

leafygreens1's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• 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

I really disliked this book - I took it on holiday & lost my backup so I was basically forced to finish it. The subject matter was gross and the story wasn't interesting enough to justify it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Pregnancy, and Fatphobia

waybeyondblue's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Bullying, Ableism, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, Incest, and Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy, Confinement, Fatphobia, Blood, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Vomit

mothersudoku's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-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

3.75

I think there is a lot of room for critique. The world building seems haphazard but I think…in my opinion… that the author was mostly focused on the characters and interpersonal relationships. The plot, or lack thereof, and setting seemed to  simply be vessels to employ this experimental atmospheric vision. It was like a persons thought process of what would happen if people had a bunch of incestuous children and the author just needed a context to put it in. There’s room for critique regarding the fat phobia and ableism of course and its reflection of the author but I also think it’s a nasty book exposing a nasty family so…
I personally love character driven books over plot and I liked to see how things played out amongst the children. It paired nicely with the sort of greek like or even biblical descriptions of the environment….very moody and haunting. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Gore, Ableism, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Bullying, Incest, Pregnancy, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

bethuuul's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Torture, Sexual assault, Blood, Physical abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Incest, Pregnancy, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Body horror, Sexual content, and Violence

oedipamaas69's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

 This book is disgusting, perverse, strange, and haunting, and I absolutely devoured it. Williams's prose teems with alien life. Events and images bleed and blend together in a way that makes the whole of the text feel like a great writhing thing instead of a story. A great read if you can stomach it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Incest, and Rape

lizwizwiz's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Incest, Fatphobia, Ableism, Death, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, Body horror, Torture, and Sexual content

jenwritesnstuff's review

dark sad tense slow-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

2.5

possibly one of the strangest books i’ve ever read. extremely disturbing and i’m not even sure if i enjoyed it but i also can’t stop thinking about it 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Bullying, Body shaming, Child abuse, Body horror, Death, and Rape

Moderate: Vomit and Fatphobia

charisbe's review

challenging dark tense medium-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, Murder, Body horror, Violence, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

t3hyan3s3's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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

2.0

I picked up this book as a challenge cause a lot of people were putting it on their “disturbing read” list, and I was just left confused and uncomfortable; which I guess is what makes it disturbing. 

The book has very little dialogue and styled with metaphors and prose. It gets hard to follow at several parts because it tends to go off on philosophical tangents and switches between POVs without any clear distinction.

The characters are horrible and are treated as such. The character Dolores is the catalyst for the book however she’s rarely shown, and when she is she’s abused or ridiculed. 

All in all, I think why it’s so confusing is because it’s not clear what it’s supposed to be. Personally, I feel like it’s trying to make some sort of statement/message; but it’s irrelevant if people can’t understand what you’re trying to say.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Body horror, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Bullying, Incest, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, and Murder

_potmc_'s review

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, and Child abuse