Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

117 reviews

dummehure's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I don't know how White does it but his books a ways grip me by the throat and don't let go until I've finished it. I loved reading this book so much, though I do have to say that I started feeling faint multiple times so do watch out for yourself when you read it!! 

Overall a wonderful experience, I can't wait to read Andrew Joseph White's next masterpiece!!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Abortion, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Torture

madamenovelist's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Hate crime, Torture, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Blood, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Confinement, Body horror, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Grief, Gore, Child death, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Abortion, Ableism, Death, Violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

Sexual abuse of minors is a theme throughout this book. All the topics are very heavy but sexual abuse and gore are very prominent.

infinite_helix's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Disturbing, wonderful, horrible, haunting, gorgeous, gory, loving, hateful, angry, wretched, joyful kinship.
The desperation and fear is palpable, and I could not put this down. I would get so sucked in the world around me fell away and got replaced by the cold, dark, clinical and cruel halls of Braxton. I was cringing from phantom pains, recoiling in disgust, clenching the book in fervor.

And yet, somehow, in all the horror, I had such intense joy and satisfaction. This is the second book I've read with an explicitly autistic protagonist, and there was SO MUCH of my experiences and feelings in Silas that it was heartbreaking and cathartic in turn.
The way Silas crumples to the ground, overwhelmed and screaming and crying, upon realizing Daphne is there and real and his mirror and an ally and safe port in this madness was how I felt reading this book. Andrew Joseph White dug his authorial fingers into the brackish and bloody part of my soul with this book.
It was painful and perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Child abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Confinement, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Transphobia, Violence, Gaslighting, Bullying, Death, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

This book does not hold back on the horrors committed willfully and frequently to those deemed 'other' in Victorian England. It also doesn't shy away from what those surviving under such violent oppression will do to themselves and others to continue to survive or escape.

salemander's review against another edition

5.0

brilliant and haunting and disgusting and so hopeful. i love gothic literature and i love trans people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexism, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

snleck's review

dark inspiring 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Dysphoria, Body horror, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, Hate crime, Transphobia, Suicide, Sexual assault, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Outing, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Deadnaming, Bullying, Body shaming, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Child death, Blood, Torture, Self harm, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, and Abortion

toto8's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Ableism, Abortion, Body horror, Physical abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, Confinement, Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Pregnancy, Dysphoria, and Adult/minor relationship

punchofwishes's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Holy shit, what a book. Having previously read and enjoyed Hell Followed With Us, I had high expectations for The Spirit Bares Its Teeth and it somehow surpassed them. This is a gritty, dark, but somehow hopeful novel centered around a trans autistic boy in an alternate late 1800s England where spirits are just as real as misogyny and the violence of the imperial patriarchy. I absolutely loved the vivid world building, the boarding school asylum setting, the discussion of neurodiversity and gender diversity, and the hopeful determination present throughout. The T4T romance was wonderfully sweet and excellently done. An unforgettable reading experience and my favourite AJW novel to date.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Ableism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Confinement, Body horror, Misogyny, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Rape, Suicide attempt, and Pedophilia

clarke's review against another edition

dark mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

The Spirit Bares its Teeth is set in 1800s London, where violet eyed mediums can commune with the dead. It follows Silas, a 16 year old autistic trans boy who dreams of being a surgeon, not a man's wife, worthy only because of his violet eyes and uterus. In a desperate bid to escape, he poses as another man but his impersonation is caught. He's deemed to have "veil sickness" a disease where any woman who opens the veil descends into madness. Instead of being sent to Bedlam, a wealthy suit sweeps in and he is instead sent away to a finishing school to teach him how to be a proper lady and beat the madness away. As he learns of missing students, and the truth the headmaster is hiding, he discovers that the punishment for disobeying the patriarchal norms is worse than death.

This book was beautiful. I've highlighted parts that really spoke to me, and it was especially evocative when discussing the trans and autistic experience, eloquently describing the horrors of being perceived: "It is only when I step back to see it all through another’s eyes that I want to unravel it and carve the meat into a new, different, more acceptable shape. The only thing that will ever matter is how others see you. I want to take myself apart into something else, and if I cannot do that, I want to destroy every part of it that could ever be used against me. And if that is my eyes, or my womb, or all of it—" and the connection of girls and womanhood through being AFAB and raised as such: "I still connect with women. I find companionship with them, closeness that cannot be denied, because the world will always do its damnedest to see me as one of them. As long as we are seen the same, we will experience the same. Our lives will be linked. I will be held to the same unfair standards, punished under the same unjust rules. To separate how you are seen from who you are sometimes feels nigh impossible.". There was also an immaculate summary about my feelings as a doctor and a uterus: "know enough about pregnancy to be terrified of it, which is the only sensible reaction to discovering how it works." As well as a many tragically beautiful descriptions of grief: "Death never goes after those who deserve it. It only ever takes from those who aren’t ready." and the horrors of man: "why is it that when they hide their faces, men become monsters instead of angels?". I'll stop quoting the book now and let you enjoy it in its entire form, but God I want you all to read it immediately. I want to highlight it in its entirety.

I couldn't put this book down, and it was sad when it ended. It's an exquisitely haunting tale tackling patriarchy, identity, and complex relationships. Whilst the plot points were predictable for me, it was still satisfying: the blossoming love story and the ones that never got to be; the evil deeds committed by men; betrayal and courage and anger and cowardice and fight. Parts were akin to screaming at your TV for the character not to go up the stairs when the killer is chasing them, not to be alone in a room with a man. It did a great job at revealing information, even if I knew it already, especially early on when Silas is investigating the missing students. The world is immersive, and whilst the author notes taking historical liberties, I found everything worked and nothing pulled me out. I would have preferred more of the ghosts, opening the veil, talking to the spirits, etc but it didn't feel lacking (I'm just a spooky bitch). The horrors of man are far worse than ghosts could ever be. We're treated to small exerts from the ghosts perspective, and they are so deservedly angry. The book came the a satisfying conclusion (even if it would have preferred a more torturous end), and I want to read it for the first time again. It does feature dark themes, but none of it feels gratuitous - this is how a horror about transphobia should be done. It does not deadname for the readers sake nor try to justify itself. The queerness felt natural, as did the relationships and reactions to events. There is a kinship amongst the different characters, and I'm glad Silas had people he could trust.

Overall, this was piercingly beautiful, and whilst I wouldn't say not to more supernatural elements, a more brutal punishment, or a tad more vengeance, it was a fantastic read. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Gore, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexism, Transphobia, Blood, Classism, Medical trauma, Cursing, Hate crime, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Murder, Outing, Confinement, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Rape

quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Gore, Misogyny, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexual assault, Confinement, Deadnaming, Rape, Kidnapping, and Sexual violence

Minor: Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, and Pregnancy

paxalotile's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Medical trauma, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Deadnaming, Body horror, Ableism, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Dysphoria, Bullying, Abortion, Blood, Violence, Torture, Sexism, Self harm, Hate crime, Murder, and Lesbophobia