Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda

19 reviews

chainsawheartbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

"My therapist says when you talk out loud without stopping for a long time, and you really listen to yourself, the mysteries end up coming out of the tangle of your subconscious."

If Ojeda doesn’t become a big name in literary horror, alongside the likes of Jackson, Shelley and Poe, then no one should. 

Given how literary this book is, it took me a while to get through it, but that doesn’t mean this book isn’t horrifyingly beautiful and macabre.

Each character read so differently from one another, I loved diving into each character’s subconscious, seeing where their biases came in.

I’ve always found tales about cosmic horror and the occult fascinating, especially when consumed together; the aspect of putting an ethereal being into our reality in a way that doesn’t feel forced can be so difficult to do, but in my opinion Odeja handles this perfectly! 

Above all else, this tale is about friendship, puberty, motherhood, and the perception of an ideal self.

If you want a slower read that still leaves you a deep sense of horror, a feeling of seeing things in the light and hearing the fluttering of lashes in the dark, then you should put this to the top of your list!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

pil4r's review against another edition

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

 Mandíbula es un trabajo de ficción literaria latinoamericana completamente perturbador y atrapante.
El protagonismo está tomado por mujeres problemáticas pero sobre todo por los vínculos oscuros y pegajosos entre ellas. La adolescencia femenina se erige como algo espeso, turbio, que brilla entreteniendose con el peligro y la violencia. La agresión e incomprensión signan los roles de hijas y madres.
La trama juega inteligentemente con la construcción de la intriga y un horror blanco, coqueteando con todos los límites. Ojeda da una clase magistral -a veces pecando de cierta pretensión, es cierto- muy psicoanalista y extremadamente cinematográfica sobre esto, sobre la intersección entre el miedo, el deseo, la violencia y las mujeres.
El libro es oscuro, retorcido, pasan muchas cosas al mismo tiempo y, sin embargo, es díficil dejar de ver.
Recomiendo altamente para amantes del terror de la Enríquez, para personas dispuestas a entretenerse y pensar sobre lo problemáticamente endiosado, violento y asqueroso de la adolescencia femenina siempre y cuando no les intimiden ni aburran demasiado los excesos de incisos, subordinadas y referencias a madres lacanianas. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death and Mental illness

Minor: Religious bigotry

savshelfinger's review

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

3.25

This book is good for an in-depth character study on adolescence, but I felt like I just kept waiting for something to happen that never materialized. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying and Child death

antimony's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

I struggled a lot with the writing style at points. just like Our Share of Night, it would regularly go on multi-page stretches with no paragraph breaks, leading me to wonder if perhaps this is a perfectly normal literary convention in south america or at least for writers of literary horror there .... but this was really good once I got into it. I especially loved the chapter which was annelise's essay about fear/white horror/cosmic horror..that was really interesting. and I was really intrigued by what was going on with the girls at their meetings in the building and I also really liked the epistolary format. the ending felt so gaping wide open which I wasn't as much of a fan of but ah well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

mondovertigo's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Lesbophobia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Gun violence

shubunkin_reads's review

challenging dark tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Sexual violence, Excrement, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Homophobia

seawarrior's review

dark tense

5.0

Endlessly disturbing and breathtakingly creative, Jawbone is a story of adolescent daring and purity that descends into violence. Ojeda's use of language, bodily disgust, and topical pop culture references create a story that is unique to the point of mythological. The horror draws the reader in and then clamps down its teeth, culminating in an ending soaked in madness and terror. One of the greatest horror stories I've ever read, and not recommended for the faint of heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Death of parent, Outing, and Sexual harassment

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

The writing itself was good but the book felt too hinged on Freudian and pseudo intellectual points that while given the instability and irrationality of the character due to both traumas and age made sense, I think bogged down the book itself because I think it accidentally undermined any attempted theme 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

rebeccafarren's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

caitlynes91's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

WHEW. wickedly good prose (shoutout to the translator omg?). also wickedly f-ed up. will be thinking about this one for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Homophobia, Self harm, Excrement, and Cannibalism