Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

104 reviews

pennywise30's review

The only book I wish I DNF, because of these labels that should have been listed. Be in a good headspace if you choose to read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment

mikspence's review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Sexual harassment

an_finsceal's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

2.5

Wtaf..
My rating is higher than I really want to put because while I don't particularly like what I read, I have to appreciate how the author managed to write this. This story is nuts! My face was constantly in a contorted and cringed position while reading. Once you thought the story couldn't get any weirder or worse, it does! Be prepared for an absolute rollercoaster with this, go in with a very open mind and brace yourself for what the author will throw at you. Behind all the craziness are actually some important themes that frame the story.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Cannibalism

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, and Murder

Minor: Infidelity

tacochelle's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

CW: child molestation, incest, murder, sexual assault, cannibalism, probably more that I'm not remembering

This had a lot of the same themes on sexuality, societal norms and taboos as Convenience Store Woman, with the additional theme of how childhood trauma affects your worldview. It's just told in a fucked up way. As detached as our main character is to the events described here, it is still a lot of graphic imagery packed in a fairly short novel. Good, but not for the faint of heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

paigem8's review

dark reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

pagancelt's review

dark mysterious sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

Really difficult to get through this one. Seriously check the TW before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Graphic pedophilia from child POV, very unsettling.

staticspider's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.0

This book is marketed as a horror book but there is a difference between horror and depravity... this isn't horror. One thing I will say is that they depicted abuse perfectly. Unfortunately there is no help for those struggling in this story. Trigger warning for those interested: child abuse, sexual abuse, suicide, incest, cannibalism, victim blaming, and a large amount of undiagnosed/ untreated mental health issues. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

oleaceae_18's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

This book is pretty unhinged, I was truly not expecting things to go where they went at the end. Really made me think about societal expectations and pressures and how it affects mental health. Particularly gender roles, misogyny, childhood trauma, and sexual abuse and its affect on a person. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence

child sex, cannibalism

frenchkey's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

This is probably the most disturbing book I've ever read. Hugely compelling, fantastically translated and completely horrifying. Murata creates so much sympathy for the characters and then tests exactly how long that can last. This book will haunt me for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug use, and Blood