Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

18 reviews

auntiejamie's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.0

A cruel book full of Boomer logic and pearl-clutching. Tediously long and overbearing; the story, the places, and it's characters are not nearly as interesting as to justify this toilet paper scroll that is hellbent on telling you just what's wrong with "today's generation."

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Rape, Transphobia, Death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, and Racism

lady_bountiful's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide

phantomgecko's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

An ending just ambiguous enough to really make the novel great. Are the questions really answered or  ???

idk, this was an interesting read. Long, but it wouldn't have been as satisfying shorter. I saw someone put this on a list of books they weren't smart enough to read, and I kinda get why. There're layers here, but it's enjoyable even at a high level.

Characters annoyed me at first, but they grew on me. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Terminal illness

nostoat's review

3.0

Here's the thing. I don't think this book was good but it was extremely compelling, and the elements of mixed media were fun. However. The main character is weirdly misogynistic, considering this book was written by a woman as far as I can tell, and there's also casual racism sprinkled throughout. The narrative voice wasn't off-putting enough that I DNF'd but it did have me constantly looking at the back flap to be SURE it wasn't written by a man because of the constant misogyny. And the way the book flirted with "the inherent madness of genius" and all of that bullshit. It was compelling though....

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Terminal illness

cowboyaj's review against another edition

2.0

i'm sorry...but he literally said the chicken in a chinese restaurant was PROBABLY CAT??
man fuck this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Misogyny, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Transphobia

coffeespooncait's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Suicide, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Xenophobia, Mental illness, Transphobia, and Drug use

amichreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Gaslighting, Violence, Terminal illness, and Mental illness

philomathean's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Cancer

sylvestra's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Child death

Moderate: Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Terminal illness

mxpringle's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

2.0

My opinions on this book are very complicated. At the beginning, I loved the format of the story and the plot had me on the edge of my seat. I think the way that Pessl crafted this story was truly masterful in that the reader is never quite sure what the reality is. However, as the book went on, I began to become frustrated with how it felt like nothing had really been uncovered in the investigation that was occurring in the book. I felt like I was being led on. In addition, so much of the book was filled with racism, sexism, and transphobia all perpetrated by the protagonist, whose authority on these matters was never questioned. As a trans person, the demonization of trans women in horror for a simple "creep factor" is getting very archaic, and Pessl's use of that trope disgusted me. In addition, the bizarre and unnecessary romance between the middle aged protagonist and his teenage assistant left me feeling slimy and uncomfortable.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Transphobia, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexism, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Trafficking, Violence, Terminal illness, and Stalking

Minor: Mental illness and Medical content