Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

58 reviews

kyullua's review

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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

I loved it! I’m trying to get back into reading and this has been one of the fastest books I read in the last few years. After the first 1/3 I ended up reading it so fast, I just HAD to know what happened next. I read 100 pages in a day only. The plot twist at the end wasn’t something I wasn’t expecting. 

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pattington's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

Grizzly, horrifying, fucked up, and cynical, this is an upsetting read and I recommend extensive trigger warnings beyond what is listed at the start of the book. If you need a warning for anything at all, you’ll likely need it for Tell Me I’m Worthless. Sitting in the violence chaos and confusion of this book it feels at once too on the nose and too obscure, but marries the two into a biting dissection of hatred. There are lengthy sections of this book that are almost unreadable from either the difficulty to stomach or parse them, but I found every page enrapturing. Super cool book. 

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augusts_2020's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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martinza's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I cried a little bit after finishing it

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gilroi's review

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challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 While this novel is searingly raw, absolutely none of it is undercooked. A testament to the work, considering how many incredible risks the writing takes, not just with form, but with content. This is a very specific book, about a very specific time, and a very specific experience. I don't know how people will understand this book if they're unfamiliar with how the internet treats trans people-- the TERF 'movement', mumsnet and #IStandWithMaya and trans widows and 4chan Nazis and sissy hypno. All of these things are real. All of these things are not parody. The book is about these things. Which is to say, fascism.

This book is a slap in the face from someone who loves you. Maybe you can forgive the violence. Maybe you can't. That's your choice. It might be the only choice you have. 

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lynxpardinus's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense

4.5


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maranda_maria's review

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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

3.5

I wanted to really like this book because it touches on themes of fascism, queerphobia (particularly transphobia), and the terrifying political landscape of today. I loved how complicated the characters were, and how we can never truly like any of them. They are all equally, horribly flawed, and are constantly at war with the worst parts of themselves. I particularly enjoyed The House as a character and entity. The House makes an incredible villain and vessel to explore the themes of rising fascism in the UK. However, the themes were spelled out to the reader in the text like this was Sesame Street. As a piece of horror, the author did not put enough trust in the reader to put the pieces together ourselves, which never fully allows the reader to be completely engrossed in the story.  I felt many things could have been more implicit and it would have made for a much more harrowing and terrifying tale. 

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bookishfaye's review

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

What a brilliant & rageful albeit explicitly horrific & triggering exploration of trauma, fascism, transness, transphobia, racism etc utilized through haunted house metaphor. A really powerful read holy moly

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cardboard's review against another edition

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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

2.5


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ecn's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated
I don’t even know what to say about the book. It was absolutely brutal in every possible way and I could barely get through it. This book contains seemingly every trigger so check that before moving forward.
I can’t say I enjoyed this book but it was really well written and reflective of everything evil and vile about the world we live in. It’s hard to read a book with shitty MCs who are also not shitty and oppressed by society. I know that’s the point but phew. There was nothing light or good to hold into in this.

The ending also left me kind of confused as to what actually happened (whether this was bc of the multiple POVs, the jumping around of timelines, or bc I read the audiobook, I have no idea).

Overall feeling very ???? I would like for my scowl and jaw to unclench but I doubt that will happen any time soon.

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