Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

171 reviews

spookylilbean's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Rape, Violence, Sexual content, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Blood

meguary's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

Trigger warnings for fascism, racism, anti-semitism, transphobia, and probably every other type of ism you could think of honestly. This reads like torture porn and the type of edgelord writing that’s solely intended to upset without actually saying anything helpful or useful. I know a lot of people seemed to like it but I really wouldn’t recommend it to anyone 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Torture, Racial slurs, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Rape, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Murder, Antisemitism, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Body horror, Classism, Death, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

justk's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

this book is phenomenal. it does something that ought have been done a long time ago — imagines that “a gothic house” is haunted and fuelled by fascism. the writing is conversational and beautiful, elegant and brutal, which allows the author to approach very complex topics with precision. i was devastated by it and then brought back to life again. we need more books that are direct about pain, because without looking at it as a part of living we will never be able to understand ourselves. besides, i feel like fascism might be one of the, if not entirely, the most important subject we can discuss right now.

i personally thought that the moral of the story was a bit too on the nose (

if we unite despite our differences, we can resist the biggest evil there is

), but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. especially considering how many people (judging by the reviews here) misunderstood it anyway. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Drug use, Body horror, Murder, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Gore, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Vomit, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Violence, Toxic friendship, Racism, Misogyny, Suicide, Sexual content, Racial slurs, and Self harm

yes, it is heavy on content warnings, but i promise it’s a book worth reading (if you can handle it — please take care)

thebechdelbitch's review

dark sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Jesus Christ, I feel slightly broken having finished this. This is not for the faint of heart, but it's a truly imaginative, absolutely ORIGINAL book which voiced and confirmed some of my deepest fears about this shit show of a country I live in. 

The haunted house metaphor was very on the nose but I don't really care. 

This made me absolutely cringe with fear and disgust before weeping with some sort of joy at the end. I don't think I could give this book less than five stars for inciting such visceral reactions, but definitely approach with caution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Gore, Self harm, Rape, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Violence, Sexual assault, Vomit, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, and Xenophobia

chefboyavi's review

challenging dark sad tense fast-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

4.25

I like Rumfitt’s writing style quite a bit. I enjoy books that are disjointed, change perspective, and expect the reader to put in the work to understand what’s happening. However, I found it a bit heavy handed and there were times when I think Rumfitt could have had a bit more restraint.

Getting to the chapter titled “You” was probably the highlight of the book for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Antisemitism, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Alcohol, Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Transphobia, Sexual content, Excrement, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Sexual violence

errie's review

challenging dark

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, Body shaming, Torture, Dysphoria, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, Rape, Hate crime, Alcohol, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Murder, Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Transphobia, and Self harm

ratkingcole's review

challenging dark fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Hate crime, Self harm, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Gore, Racism, Transphobia, and Dysphoria

spinebinding's review

challenging 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

A compelling horror novel that felt like looking in a grimy bathroom mirror. A complex story dealing with the complex intersections of transness and racial identity, how fascism or psudo-fascist states and cultures eat into and violate every person living under them and how it violently separates us and turns us against each other for it's own benefit, making us both the victim and victimizer. 

This story focuses heavily on the fascism and socio-political climate of England.  As an American reader, the themes and concepts did translate and the story resonated deeply with me, but you will find it feels slightly misaligned with American fascism simply because they are different breeds of the same species.   

Some may find the imagery and messaging too heavy handed, but for me it never really felt out of place.  When reading others' opinions I would think 'of course it's heavy handed, fascism is heavy handed.  It beat's itself into you and many do not even notice.'

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Xenophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexism

Moderate: Racial slurs and Death

Minor: Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Misogyny, Blood, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Hate crime

eanna's review

dark tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicide, Racism, Rape, Torture, Antisemitism, Murder, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Transphobia, Violence, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexism, Body shaming, Blood, Death, and Sexual assault

b_fruits's review

4.5

Oooooooooooof ouch my stomach hurts after this one. This felt like everything I wanted Manhunt to be. It’s really hard to pull off contemporary and overt political/social references without falling into heavy-handedness, but Rumfitt pulled it off. I had a few complaints - I wish Hannah had been given more focus and background, and I had a bit of a tough time with the way the

Alice vs Ila rape dual-confusion

was balanced and handled. Otherwise very good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Racism, Transphobia, Body horror, Gore, Rape, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, and Homophobia