Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez

43 reviews

nefarious_rat's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

collection of short stories so character progression and such is difficult, but within each story the characters were distinct and never felt rushed, some of the stories were not to my taste but still very well written, favourites are, our lady of the quarry, the well, the lookout (particularly the characterisation of elina), where are you dear heart (grotesque and delicious my absolute favourite i keep re-reading it), and meat (a very close second favourite for the exact same reasons)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Addiction, Suicide, Child death, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Police brutality, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Blood, Abandonment, Cancer, Excrement, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Body horror, Cannibalism, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Vomit, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Outing, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Biphobia, Cancer, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Confinement

zayzay2's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

one of my fav books, one of the first weird, dark books I read 2023. It had multiple different stories I enjoyed the fact that it was short and got to the point. All very strange characters which was always fun to read, still think about the cannibalism chapter what a weird one but still fun to read. I love strange characters that are talked about, never read a short story collection before this was my first and I'll be reading more short story collection as they are easy to get through. I enjoyed the different setting the writer described, different age groups and that the whole book was In a POC country with different culture to mind which I loved to read about. The only reason it's not a 5/5 is due to me not falling in love with ALL the stories some weren't my favourite but still enjoyable, it took me to a dystopian like world which I enjoyed. A lot of immoral characters and fucked up thoughts they had. Can't really say more, recommend.    

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Blood, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Death, Suicide, Abandonment, Addiction, and Eating disorder

kyarabereading's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This is definitely one of the darkest & most haunting books I have read thus far, & I didn’t know how I’d handle that originally, but it was definitely worth the read. The writing style, the characters, the stories in general - they really stick with you even long after you’ve read them. And the endings - whether you could see them coming or not - hit you like a punch in the gut. Each one is really heartbreaking & horrifying in its own way.  

I will say I think some stories were better than others, but maybe if I gave it another read sometime in the future, I’ll change my mind about that lol I definitely had some immediate favorites & that made certain stories pale in comparison. But I feel like that’s usually the case with short story collections. Nonetheless, I thought it was a pretty good short story collection!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcoholism, Grief, Self harm, Alcohol, Abandonment, Child death, Gore, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Excrement, Torture, Kidnapping, and Trafficking

ellewhyoh's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious fast-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

I sometimes have a problem giving short story collections a fair shake, because I feel like ambiguous endings and unanswered questions are an inherent component of the genre, and that kind of drives me crazy.

That being said, this collection was very intriguing, and the unanswered questions drove me less crazy than usual. This book delved into a lot of different types of horror and the supernatural, but a strong theme amongst most of them was memory and disappearance. When is something lost? Is loss best understood as an action, or as a noun? Is it wrong or right to let the shadows take their toll? 

Overall this collection was very intriguing, and it will leave me thinking.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Trafficking, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Blood, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual violence, Self harm, and Physical abuse

Minor: Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

meaghanelizabook's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug use, Transphobia, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Medical content, Suicide, Child death, Drug abuse, Vomit, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, and Trafficking

fairytalefootnotes's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, Murder, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Body horror, Death, Violence, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Self harm, Medical content, and Suicide

illicitrature's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Vomit, and Torture

Moderate: Rape

krhe's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

El relato de los problemas de corazón... Esto no lo voy a olvidar en mi puta vida. 

ALSO LO DE LOS CRÍOS REAPARECIDOS WTF

Trigger warnings: todos 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Racial slurs, Self harm, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Cannibalism, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gore, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Child abuse, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexism

ava_lanche's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Twelve eerie stories that thrive in the mysteries they create! These mysteries are not meant to be solved, only experienced through the eyes of different Argentine women whose voices have been quieted, either by shame and insanity or by the ever-present fear of it.

Hailing from impoverished slums, trafficked children haunt the streets; raped and murdered girls reappear in silence; mothers curse their daughters; girls are possessed and scarred yet no one believes them. Crushed rib cages and torn entrails – anatomical obsessions turn bloody. Here, what is not said is the most powerful.

As with most collections of stories, some pieces are stronger than others. Many of these stories feel a little... unfinished. Some endings are unsatisfactory, which is such a shame, as most of the premises are unusually creative and thought-provoking.

However, "The Well", "Where Are You, Dear Heart?" and "Rambla Triste" were definite highlights. I also liked "The Cart" and "The Kids Who Come Back".

The stories work well together, and create a Buenos Aires that is filled with danger – physical, mental and paranormal. The poisons of the city has taken on a ghostly shape, and the repercussions are felt mostly by the women, whether it's their bodies or their minds that are marked by violence, and whether the sins are committed by people or by ghosts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Self harm, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Body horror, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Murder, Medical trauma, Death, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Suicide, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Violence, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Gore, and Excrement

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicide attempt, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Animal cruelty, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence