Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck

5 reviews

heshanks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Gorgeous prose that doesn't collapse under its own weight.
Excellent use of silence/blank space
I often get tired of format swapping, but this moves between narrative prose and play scenes and does it to *fantastic* effect.

Main characters encounter peril but do not perish.

Weird premise, beautifully told.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Medical content, Body horror, and Death of parent

hocuscrocus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Man. If I were just rating part one, it would be an EASY 5. That was some of the most beautiful literature I've ever read. I was sobbing by the end. I can definitely understand why the format might not be everyone's cup of tea but I absolutely loved it.

Unfortunately, the book lost me in part 2. It's a lovely story, but it felt like too far a meander from the gut punch that was part one. If it were up to me, I would have had just the first part, about half of the third part, and the epilogue.

All that said, I whipped through this book like wildfire.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Dementia, Violence, Chronic illness, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Animal death, Death, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Abortion and Infertility

mxyfrzn's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Dementia

Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Physical abuse

Minor: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Rape, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Suicidal thoughts

mdavis26's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

rover_under's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is a much faster read than the page count suggests, owing to its unique style. Some scenes are written as screenplays or diary entries that extend to only one or two sentences per page. I enjoyed the book. It was heartfelt and its allegory toward illness and death felt impactful and was used well. 

I don't know if I have the life experience to evaluate the book in this way, but despite the absurd premise of the book, the subject matter was handled well.

One thing I was confused by is the author's choice to hide Wren and her mother's mutation until late in the book. I initially excused it as being part of the past self that Wren had chosen to leave behind, but Lewis seemed to know all of it, though I can't recall it referenced in the first part of the book when he's going though his metamorphosis. It felt awkward and strange to have not been told since I'd initially thought it was Wren hiding it from the other characters.

Otherwise I think it's a fantastic book with a very engaging style, and I would fully recommend it for anyone who felt comfortable with the subject matter discussed.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abortion, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Incest