Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Tell Me I'm Worthless

Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

42 reviews

jfontaine's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

The content warning at the start of the book is crucial. Readers really need to know what they're getting themselves into with this book, and it is so dark, so graphic, so chilling. There were moments that made me feel physically ill. The narration is brilliant and nuanced. I don't know that I can recommend it because it is truly horrifying, but it's important and I know I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

I actually don’t know if I recommend this because though it is meant to be horror, possibly satire, and providing searing commentary on the many -isms and current zeitgeist, I am …. genuinely concerned that it may cause more harm than spark rumination. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m uninterested in forcing folks to read through deeply traumatic and painful events and hateful messaging (obviously posited as wrong and bigoted, but still!) just to get a point across. I’m unsure if this book executes the message it is trying to get across well enough to present the topics at hand.

I felt thoroughly creeped out, uncomfortable, and heartbroken as I read about Ila and Alice’s experiences in the haunted house that left their friend Hannah behind so many years ago. However, again, I genuinely don’t know if I recommend this. I am not saying there’s no room for deeply disturbing literary fictional horror, because obviously the trans community is under attack in the United States, with more policy targeting their rights and general wellbeing. I just don’t know if this book’s graphic nature was for me.

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spookylilbean's review

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I loved the almost franti writing style. The book felt unsettling and manic, but on purpose. I did not enjoy the vulgar language at times.

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atticusboo's review

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dark slow-paced

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

2.0

This book had so much potential - drawing on the basic ideals of a haunted house (strongly inspired by the haunting of hill house by Shirley Jackson).
The author spend too much time trying to show how clever and deep they were that the story just got lost in itself and fell off into rambling nonsense towards the end.
Some chapters are very good at creating frightening, atmospheric horror but overall this should have stayed as a creative writing project in someone's journal imo.

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trashgobby's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

dodgeremerson's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

Absolutely brutal.

This book made me deeply uncomfortable the entire time I read it. I don't regret reading it, as it is a good look at how easy it is to fall into fascist ideology, especially for young people and marginalized individuals.

It is not for everyone, but if you have the stomach for it, it's worth a read.

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thebigemmt505's review

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dark emotional funny fast-paced

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

1.5

“Sometimes, at the end of everything, the only option you have is to make it worse.” This sentence essentially summarizes the book.

Tell Me I’m Worthless is a story about trauma and fascism…or…is it? The story follows two woman, Alice and Ila, as they navigate the trauma they faced after visiting an abandoned house. In this house, they lost their friend Hannah, and this is the only part of their memories that doesn’t conflict with one another’s. Throughout the book, each of them accuses the other of rape. After this trauma, Alice, turned to drugs, partying, and a bit of racism, and Ila became a TERF. The reader journeys through the hate and pain that fascism forces onto them and what this ultimately results in.

There’s a good, great, even, story within this mess of a book. It’s received a lot of love, so much to the point I feel as though I’m crazy for having not liked it. In fact, it’s probably one of the worst books I’ve ever read.

Before I criticize, I admire the author for tackling difficult topics and not shying away from graphic content to make a point. Trauma should not be sugar-coated and I am always happy to see transgressive horror push the boundaries. There are harrowing descriptions and great body horror that made me squirm. The chapters about the history of the house were well done; I genuinely enjoyed reading these. The story overall is fast-paced and engaging. I was never bored, much as I was annoyed. Morally grey characters are my favorite, so to see marginalized characters portrayed in an imperfect yet human way was nice. Somehow, at the end of the clusterfuck, I still found the ending really touching.

However, that’s it, and this is being generous. Tell Me I’m Worthless is a goddamn mess. Every metaphor is put under the brightest flashlight, gleaming in apparency, then shoved down the readers throat so far it comes out of their ass. The book insists on its themes more than it lets story speak to those themes. The name of the haunted house is Albion, for fucks sake. Theres a poster in Alice’s room that is supposedly a reference to Morrissey; whoever it is, it sure isn’t subtle in its depiction of celebrities’ influence on the culture war. Much as I agree with many of the sentiments the author presents, with each long political rant that is clearly just the author venting, I felt my eyes roll so far into the back of my head they got stuck there. On that note, the writing got on my very last optic nerve less than a quarter of the way through, with unbelievably bad writing and cringe-inducing dialogue, not to mention the clumsy references to internet culture. I stumbled blindly to the end of this narrative, tracing my fingers along the page in the hopes of finding some coherence, some elegance in the indentation of these words that disappointed me over and over. It’s ham-fisted, too on-the-nose, funny when it’s not meant to be and cringy when it’s trying to be funny. Tonally, it’s all over the goddamn place, much like uh, uh, England is all over the place because colonization!!! Get it!!! Do you get it reader?!?

I wanted so badly to like this. I love transgressive LGBT horror with bold themes. Perhaps this is why my aggravation is so strong. So honestly, in my opinion, avoid this one. It is Alison Rumfitt’s debut novel. Maybe, her second one is better. Maybe, every one of her writings after this will be better. Maybe, it’s just not for me. Many people loved this book, so who am I to say? I rest my case though.

Admittedly the funniest part of the book to me was the fact the only slur she shied away from was r*tard.

Content Warnings