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Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Dysphoria
Minor: Rape, Sexual harassment
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Sexual harassment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism
Thank you so much for writing this Andrew, truly.
I adored this and I am so so grateful I was able to read it
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Do you know how angry the dead can be?
They must have convinced themselves they would never rot in the same dirt as we do.
In my review of Hell Followed with Us, I said the words "bold and furious" to describe the book. I said the book is a story of rage consuming, of revolution and uprising, of setting ablaze the world and those who wished to use you for their gain.
While reading The Spirit Bares Its Teeth I was struck by how much of it is a mirror to White's debut. It's not a simple reflection of his previous work nor is it just a rehashing of the same themes. Instead it's a rendition, a shadow, a closer look at the source, at the core of, where so much rage begins.
Hell Followed with Us is about the beauty of decay and rot and the rebirth of one's self into their true monstrous form, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is about the power of breaking the cage within yourself to free your righteous fury and ripping the Veil all together.
It is a story that picks at the scabs of old wounds that many of us have endured at hands of a world that wishes to "fix us" through any means as long as we assimilated. This is an acknowledgement of the horrors of those who came before us (of women, of people of color, of queer and trans people, of disabled and mentally ill individuals) suffered. It is an acknowledgment of the battles many marginalized people still endure for simply not fitting into the narrow minded boxes (Christian) society demands. And it does shy away from the dark and truly disgusting horrors of humanity's greed and man's desire for power over all.
While The Spirit Bares Its Teeth does indeed touch upon rage, upon anger and frustration; it is a story of pain inflicted by those in positions of power, of the suppression of self for survival, and overcoming of fear in order to not just live but to thrive.
And it does this wonderfully. This is a true gothic horror in every sense; from the setting and themes it utilizes, from the classic use of gaslighting and mystery against the characters to a pure feeling of isolation and desperation.
For fans of Crimson Peak and Devil's Backbone this is for you.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Lesbophobia, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Pregnancy, Dysphoria
Minor: Miscarriage, Colonisation, Classism
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Abandonment, Dysphoria
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Hell Followed With Us was one of my absolute faves of last year so I was overjoyed to get a chance to read the author's second book early on. And even though this time I knew what I was signing up for, woah, did it still hit HARD.
I'm pretty sure that Andrew Joseph White is on a mission to find all the settings that terrify me the most, squeeze all the awfulness out of them and fill them with gore and queer rage. I won't be surprised if his next books is set in 1950s US (*shudders*).
It's a book filled with gore and involuntary medical procedures and experimentation. It's about forced institutionalization, there's sexual assault, and did I mention gore and gory, bloody details? There's so much transphobia and ableism and misogyny.... and somehow, it all balances out. It doesn't feel like too much or maybe it's just that all these elements aren't there for the shock value. Andrew Joseph White fills these horrible things with queer rage and reclaims them. Even when the world and all the horrible people try to break his characters over and over, even when they're helpless, they keep on fighting. They keep on surviving. And isn't that what we, queer people do?
The characters, as in Hell Followed With Us, are amazing. I love that Silas gets to meet another autistic person and another trans person. I love that whatever he goes through, there are others with similar experiences. It's a reminder that in this horrible horrible world you're never truly alone.
Everyone in this book is seriously messed up, omg. All the characters are morally gray to say the least. But then, as the book itself says, would you judge an animal for doing everything it takes to survive? Why would you judge a person differently?
I need to reread Hell Followed With Us soon.
***Thank you NetGalley for the eARC***
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape