Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

242 reviews

kwilson2512's review against another edition

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Rape, and Transphobia

violetends's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing 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

5.0

One of the most visceral, fucked up, horrendous things I've ever read. An absolutely unhinged fever dream. I am in awe. The audio book version is truly sublime. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Classism

0leander's review

dark tense

• 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

Horrible. Nauseating at times. One chapter is physically impossible to read as intended. Five stars
(no, really, read the content warnings)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Hate crime, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Antisemitism, Murder, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Deadnaming, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

meg_thebrave'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

3.25

I think this book is really expertly written, especially for a debut. Rumfitt describes the book as “wild and gross” and it is. It’s brutal. It’s like reading Blasted by Sarah Kane. But it’s also a beautifully crafted book, and hard to put down. It’s a fucked up story, and a masterful one. The ways Rumfitt explores trauma is impressive. Not quite my cup of tea, but I’m glad I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Islamophobia

PLEASE pay attention to these content warnings, they are there for a reason. The author offers a content warning at the beginning of the book; it is as intense as the warning implies.

golpesar818's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

mixed emotions towards this book. horrified, disgusted, excited, etc. i thought the ending felt a little rushed and there were some threads i wished had been resolved. i liked the structure of the book and changing perspectives, but agree with other critiques i have read that the fascistic ramblings of the House felt overwritten and overdone. overall, it felt bold and novel and i have to respect it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, and Transphobia

madelinequinnee's review

dark 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? Yes

4.5

Wow, this was insane but oh so good! A beautifully written horror, this made me feel so many emotions from disgust to hope to anger to sadness. There’s so many layers to this novel and I highly recommend anyone interested in queer horror to pick this up ASAP! 

I loved the references to The Haunting Of Hill House, and the use of a haunted house not in a ghosts sense but more a deep prejudice embedded into a place. I think that’s the most believable theory of hauntings and this book showed that really well! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

casparquarius's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

intense gorey trans horror is so much my jam. the House chapters, especially the first one, were very cool, and the Hannah chapter as well. I respect the heavy-handedness of the book, but I do think it could have benefited from more moments of subtlety, especially as it felt like the writing was tripping over itself at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

rmnedder's review

challenging dark 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

4.5

I will be thinking about this book for a long, long time to come.

Compelling and deeply disturbing, this book is a fascinating examination of the intersection of marginalization, trauma, and fascism. The prose is slippery and sharp and whip-smart, Alice and Ila are both deeply flawed and interesting characters, and the author has made some very smart storytelling choices. The multi-perspective narration adds (in a good way) to the somewhat disorienting nature of the truth of this story. The message feels a little on the nose at times, especially considering who the target audience of this book is, but it's still a very impactful read. I don't want to say I enjoyed it, because that feels like the wrong thing to say about this book, but it's sticking with me and I'm so glad I read it. 

READ THE CONTENT WARNINGS, I BEG YOU. This is a rough read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Pedophilia, Self harm, Torture, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death and Vomit

cheriepie's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

 Love a good haunted house. Love what people do with the symbol of the House. Saying I "enjoyed" the book feels incorrect though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism

Rumfitt has a list of trigger warnings at the start and there are more on the Storygraph page. Don't ignore them, and whatever you're anticipating brace yourself for something more extreme. If you're like me and want to know so you can mentally prepare, there is a very graphic rape scene

in the second part of the book, where the text splits into two text blocks.

erinbarton's review

dark tense medium-paced

3.0

really enjoyed the house and body horror elements to this, however the writing did feel like the author was trying to include every political issue possible and somehow make the haunted house allegory work for everything. even when these social issues are views i share it became tedious to be constantly reading it stated in increasingly aggressive ways.

rumfitt pays clear homage to classic horror / suspense works of literature ie haunting of hill house, rebecca, the bloody chamber, i did enjoys these references and thought they were well incorporated, but while these works also use horror tropes as allegories for social issues, they definitely do so in a more nuanced and much less heavy-handed way. tell me i’m worthless wouldn’t require any deeper analysis than a surface level reading to pick out the views being argued in this novel, which ultimately outshined any real story or plot within the novel.

characterisation felt like it was lacking -- beyond gender/race/sexuality identifiers i couldn’t tell you much about either of the two main characters. 

overall the main premise story and the middle section of the book focusing on the house was really good and i wish this made up more of the book, and that the social / political issues were more allegorical and nuanced within the book as they would have been more impactful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

Moderate: Suicide attempt