Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Kartographie des Inneren by Stephen Graham Jones

39 reviews

royalraspberry's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism and Child death

cait's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Dysphoria, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Forced institutionalization

bluejayreads's review against another edition

3.5

Very weird, very short, very disturbing. It had some strong magical realism elements, but since the narrator was the only person to experience anything weird, it didn't feel like magical realism so much as one of those books where you're not sure if there's actually something supernatural going on or if it's all in the protagonist's head. But the back cover also calls it "deeply rooted in the contemporary Native American experience," so maybe it's actually including a particular tribe's understanding of or mythology around ghosts and I'm just missing the context to understand. This whole novella gives me a feeling that I'm missing something. By itself, it's a disturbing, incredibly dark horror story that never quite answers the question of whether or not any of this actually happened. But I also get the sense that there's deeper ideas that I just don't have the context or the analysis stills to really grasp. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gun violence, Body horror, and Ableism

Minor: Gore

emilyready's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Gore

jeninthebooks08's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

"When I was twelve years old, I mapped the interior of our home. Now, sitting across from my little brother, I’m sketching out a map of the human heart, I guess. There’s more dark hallways than I knew."

Brooo, this was so... daunting? In the best way possible.
That ending made my heart sink!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Grief, and Death

poisoned_icecream's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Death of parent

greatestheights's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Animal death, Death of parent, Gore, and Medical content

archaicrobin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

Stephen Graham Jones is one of those horror authors I always come back to because his stories are dark and heart wrenching.  His horror melds supernatural with real human evil in a way that’s truly terrifying. 

This novella is often described as a house of leaves situation, but it is not that at all! The house is not the focus here, it’s just where the events happen. Junior is 12 years old and begins seeing his dead father roaming the halls of his ramshackle home. With a disabled brother, a single mother, bullying at school, a deputy making night visits, and  an aggressive neighbor with vicious dogs, Junior first sees his dad’s apparition as a good thing. But soon he starts to see the apparitions true intentions. 

While this book is short I found myself needing to put it down at times just to have a break from the sheer bleakness. I highly recommend this or any other Stephen Graham Jones novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Animal death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Death of parent, and Police brutality

bdingz's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Death of parent, Child abuse, and Gun violence

Moderate: Animal death and Bullying

Minor: Child death and Alcohol

judassilver's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Chronic illness, Colonisation, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Car accident, and Child abuse

Minor: Bullying, Gun violence, Ableism, and Forced institutionalization