Reviews with content warning for Body horror - My Heart Is a Chainsaw

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

129 reviews

hanlov's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I’ll start by saying I’m definitely not the target audience for this as I’ve seen like one slasher movie in my whole life and don’t enjoy the genre. This definitely relies on pop culture/slasher movie references for the plot so I kinda figured it wouldn’t be my cup of tea. Jade really frustrated me as a narrator, the pacing was painful, and the r*pe bit made my stomach churn. It’s not for me but I suppose I can sorta see why people liked this.

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goblinghost_39's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

I think I benefited from listening to the audiobook for this one. Jade is a rambling mess, and it was much easier to just listen to her while I was working instead of taking the time to sit down and read. The actual plot that happens outside of her head was a bit of a letdown. I didn't really understand Letha at all.

HOWEVER. Jade herself was fascinating to get to know and, in a way, I could relate to her hyperfocus on something dark as a way to cope. I say "in a way" because I'm white and can't relate to her being Indian in what seems like a predominantly white town.

I did, though, have a parent who was both emotionally abusive and neglectful at the same time. So still not as traumatic as what Jade went through. But I was (and still kind of am deep down) an angry and emotionally distressed kid. Didn't really have any friends. Any adult ever saw me and basically shrugged. So I was left to my own devices without any of the tools to actually deal with...everything? Anything? So teenage me coped, with what was still probably the worst time of my life, by way of escapism. And that included horror. And also self-harm, but that feels like a whole different story that we don't need to get into right now. But let me tell you, regardless of what it is you get into that helps you cope, at that age that kind of internal isolation does some wonky shit to your brain. Jade comes off as kind of a loon. But it's not the slasher films. It's the fact that she's more-or-less been left alone for years while her brain is still developing.

So I 100% see you, Jade. I am also a bit of a loon due to some not-so-nice events and people. And it is that sole reason that this book gets 4 stars instead of the 3 I was considering.

Will definitely read more from this author. And since this is a trilogy, I'll be sure to check out the next one. I just hope we get to know Jade on an even deeper level that isn't just how many times she can reference Friday the 13th.

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hintermost's review

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

1.0

Fucking hell, this book has so many issues. Jade Daniels is far and away one of the most annoying protagonists I have ever bore witness to. So much so, that by the time her trauma gets revealed by the end of the book, you can barely sympathize with her, you just want the book to be over with already. If I have to read the phrase "final girl" or get another "well I'm an outcast!11!!" one more time, I'd be liable to pull my own hair out.

The book setup itself is an overly-bloated mess, getting quite exhausting to read in the middle chapters. This issue is exasperated further by the usage of the "Slasher 101" sections between chapters. I know this is meant to further allow the reader access to Jade's horror knowledge and her relationship with Mr. Holmes, but it's just grating - especially when most of it is irrelevant to the plot.

As a result of the bloated, poorly planned plot, the actual horror doesn't occur until the tail end of the novel. When it finally happens, it seems like less of a well-planned ending point, and more "cobbled-together-to-meet-a-deadline."

I have no intention of reading the sequels, as this first novel was and annoying, unfocused, bloated mess of a work.

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judassilver's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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

5.0

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shysheepys's review

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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

4.0

I love Jade Daniels and I want nothing but the best for her.
I'm personally not a slasher fan, but I love horror and wrote a few college papers on slasher tropes and the theories behind slashers and why slashers are popular. I loved being able to read this without having to think to hard about the things Jade was talking about, because I already knew them too, and it all made sense. For someone that hadn't done research on slashers, though? I can't imagine them being able to read this easily.

But anyway, I love Jade Daniels. I love this book. I can't wait to read the next.

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gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

The Details:
Narrated by Cara Gee
Unabridged

Unexpectedly angsty and for some reason, I didn't know what was going on. I think I was thrown off by how horror movie central it was - like there were essays as in between chapters - and I just haven't consumed enough of the classics to really appreciate it.

I also found Jade really unlikeable and because I had issues with following along with the plot, this wasn't something I could bypass over. Also the ending just seemed to appear out of no where, and made no sense.

I did manage to grasp some of the deeper tones and that's another reason I kept listening. I do think a revisit at some stage could encourage a better reading experience for me.

I am disappointed I didn't enjoy this one, I possibly could have just dnf'd this one and contemplated doing that a few times, but I enjoyed the writing. So in saying that, I would like to try The Only Good Indians, but I think I'd try that as a physical read rather than an audio. Depending on how I get on with that one, I may come back to this title to reread in a different format.

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