Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Boy Parts by Eliza Clark

293 reviews

marino_sln's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Vomit, Animal death, and Murder

jil_m's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Rape, Body horror, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, and Vomit

hjb_128's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Violence, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Pedophilia, Self harm, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Torture, Cursing, Body horror, Blood, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Animal death

Moderate: Biphobia, Fatphobia, and Classism

sofiaboebia's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

this book was intense with a lighthearted “nothing matters” tone, in the creepiest way. The last chapter sums this up completely and is a stunning ending to such a gripping book. It almost feels stereotypical but not, it feels like it relies on shock but it doesn’t, it’s well written but almost not. The last line leaves you mouth open, but not particularly shocking. The book follows a deeply attractive woman’s sabbatical from a bar job she was forced to take. excessive drug use, mania, and clearly phycopathic behaviors leave her recollection of the story questionable and unreliable. The first 200 pages are a slow build of a clearly messed up woman living here life as a photographer and partying but the last 100 pages take a dark and gorey turn. This book follows her vengefulness and almost rage, and as awful as she is, she is an compelling and (for some of it) almost forgivable main character(this obviously has to do with her narration as well). This book is almost entirely character driven, nothing “just happens” to her except for the reason she is on a sabbatical in the first place. Although it is plot driven there is no positive character development to speak of, throughout the book she looks through her archives of photos and reflects, but clearly she has been a similar person for a long time and will continue to be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Vomit, Self harm, Alcohol, Torture, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Gore, Rape, Addiction, Body horror, Drug use, and Sexual assault

isaarusilor's review

challenging dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Body horror, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Vomit, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail

gracesvcr's review against another edition

dark 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

2.5

☆ ☆ 2.5 Stars
(spoiler-ish warning...maybe??)
There was a whole lot going on with this book and then there was a whole lot of nothing in the end. There were multiple times throughout the book where I questioned what the point was and where the point is. Every 2 chapters, I would wonder what the deeper meaning behind all the details were, but I would usually end up with no answers and continue on my questioning. It was difficult for me to sort out where this book was headed but not in the way of intrigue like other thrillers do for me where I am ravenously digging into the book wondering what the next page will entail. Instead, it was more in the ways of, "is this worth my time?" and, "is there a deeper meaning, because I hope there is at the end of all this?"
I felt like I got nothing out of this book and I was supposed to get something from the way that it had structured itself. It seemed like there was going to be this big plot twist or this big message on something. The little scenes and details and characters, they were all supposed to mean something, but they just...kind of didn't. I stress the meaning so much in my review because the book held itself with such importance, but maybe that was just Irina's narcism bleeding through the pages making it out to be bigger than it actually was.

This book was attempting to be something shocking, unseen, taboo, kinky, conforming to a niche group of people, and the like. I won't deny it these titles, but I think the execution was poor. It's almost ironic how similar this book is to Irina's photography business and personality. What it ended up as was a confusing mess with open plot lines and very serious topics (like gender, sex, BDSM, abuse, SA, rape, ect.) left inadequately communicated. I understand trying to touch on taboo topics like having an edgy character that is gay and overly sexual for a female. The thing is, the book really just did too much. Like I think it was trying to touch on every obscure, 'edgy', taboo topic of our generation. What Eliza Clark failed to do was come to a conclusion on all the topics. She touches on them, but she doesn't really form an arch or a story or a resolution with them. The structure and the plot just fell flat in many areas and with little to no resolution on these heavy/more taboo topics, it kind of loses any meaning she was trying to achieve.

The portrayal of the BDSM community and sadism, specifically, was so poorly written. With no aftercare, no communication, and little to no consent, it almost feeds into the stereotypes of BDSM rather than contribute to the community at all. The most important thing about portraying sadism or BDSM in general is the strong use of consent. This book is literally just rape and SA, which can be fine if it is done in the right way. To my understanding from this book, the men are just straight up extremely uncomfortable with Irina sexually, but for some reason, Eliza keeps them going right back to her. I think Eliza was trying to pull this bigmessage about how Irina has 'little to no consequences to her actions' and making it some massive thing that's supposed to elicit a response in the reader. To me, her point just fell flat and just miscommunicates kinky sex.
Also, I understand the main character is supposed to be a sociopath/narcissist that lacks any and all empathy and just wants to just hurt people/self sabotage, but I feel like it could have been written better. It was almost like Eliza Clark was confused on whether to make the sex consensual and then changed her mind middle way through, but kept attempting this ploy throughout the book.

For some of the highlights, the book didn't end up on my DNR list and didn't take me too long to read either. (I did find myself taking multiple breaks b/c the main character is just insufferable but she's supposed to be). Luckily, it also didn't kill my reading streak (which I'm very grateful for). There were a few good prose and quotes in this book, but at the end of the day, I feel like the book was just trying to accomplish too much in which it fell flat with me.

All this to say, I did not absolutely hate the book regardless of the low rating and criticisms that I have of it. I think it was interesting at the end of the day, but the goal of the book just didn't get achieved for me. Also, I just feel like the lines of consent blur a little too much and misunderstandings about taboo sex and sex in general could get misconstrued. But...maybe that was the point so I don't know. This book left me feeling confused.

(if there are any typos, I apologize. I am a stressed/burnt out nursing student just trying to mentally survive and it's 1 am. Thanks for reading <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Addiction, Cursing, Physical abuse, Death, and Vomit

Moderate: Torture, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Gore, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Biphobia, and Blood

Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child death, Self harm, and Rape

bella_cavicchi's review

dark tense medium-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

4.0

I found this compulsively readable and incredibly dark.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Rape, Child death, Self harm, Medical content, Violence, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Murder, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Grief, Excrement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Body shaming, Blood, and Animal death

kates_cupcakes's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Feels like a fever dream, you experience the hallucinations as she does and because she’s unreliable you don’t trust her. Heavy drug use and alcohol fuel the plot and it keeps the pages turnings at almost a dizzying speed. This book makes you feel lost in time, almost as if the world stops

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Cursing, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Violence, Murder, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, and Drug use

Moderate: Sexual assault and Vomit

Minor: Animal death, Self harm, and Animal cruelty

mcaz8's review

dark fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Self harm and Animal death

editorgrrl's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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

4.0

Irina (or did her mam name her “Irene”?) is a painfully thin female bisexual Patrick Bateman (complete with business cards and cleaning products) from Northern England.

An unreliable narrator, she drops names, watches ultra violent films, and wishes she were a stone cold bitch rather than a plumber’s daughter who’s only working part time at a seedy bar so that her mam will continue to pay half her rent.

If you hate unlikable characters, this is not the book for you. I found it darkly humorous, and a little sad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, and Self harm

Minor: Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal cruelty