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lizburny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Ableism, Bullying, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Addiction, Animal death, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Cursing, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Medical trauma
beansrowning's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Wow. Not sure where to begin. I both loved many sections and hated an equal amount.
I get why so many people just don't finish it, but I'm happy I did. Not my favorite book, but one that has (maybe a bit too much) to say.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Adult/minor relationship
julziez's review
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Torture, Gore, Transphobia, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Drug use, Excrement, Homophobia, Medical content, Rape, Suicide attempt, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal death, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
nickds's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Suicide, Self harm, Mental illness, Incest, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Deadnaming and Child death
rho21's review against another edition
Graphic: Drug abuse
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Sexual content, Drug use, and Mental illness
kclark's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
I, however, loved it. A lot of the prose is surprisingly accessible, and at times incredibly engrossing to read. The bizarre world that the characters inhabit is like a bizarre shadow universe of our own where just enough feels similar or is eerily reminiscent of our own world while at other times being a bizarrely funny caricature of life as we know it.
I enjoyed moving through the various threads of characters and plotlines in the book, and how they all came together to give different viewpoints of motifs like addiction, entertainment, and a sense of purpose in life. There were certainly times when the plot seemed to meander, and swathes I felt I could have done without, but ultimately they were not long enough for me to want to put it down. I also enjoyed the ambiguity of the plot, and I had a lot of "fun" while I was reading it and afterwards reading blogs and reddit posts to parse through some of the ambiguity. So I guess if you are someone who likes really clear, cut-and-dry plot clarity, I can see why you would not have a good time reading this book.
The one criticism that I can totally agree with is the sometimes bro-iness of the prose thoughtout the book. It is clearly a product of its time, i.e. the '90s. While, yes, a lot of the cruder language of the book comes through the perspectives of characters who are not meant to be totally likeable, Wallace does not seem completely interested in interrogating that line of thought, or if a moral judgment is made it is along the lines of "It's Gately's way of seeing things, not mine," which is hard to take at face value in a book where the whole time it seems to be telling you "THIS IS A BOOK. THIS IS FICTION." Also that interjection in fake-AAVE is so deeply cringey. I know it is the oldest part of the book, and all that, but it is so clearly not actual AAVE and just how a white guy thinks AAVE sounds that it feels like it could have come from a pre-internet era.
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
nickleemusic1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Animal death, Death, Racism, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Transphobia, Excrement, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Suicide
rue_knee's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Ableism, Abortion, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Violence
viksquires's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence
adriennne's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Vomit, Violence, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Body shaming and Transphobia
Minor: Homophobia and Incest