Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

Very Cold People by Sarah Manguso

4 reviews

rebekahvldz's review

challenging sad fast-paced

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

0.5

I can very confidently say this is the worst book I have ever read in my entire 25 years of living .I would've DNF'd but I had to read it for school. More thoughts to follow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Body horror, Incest, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Eating disorder, Confinement, Child abuse, and Sexual content

zwin's review

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Body shaming, Child abuse, Bullying, Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, and Sexual violence

d3nim_diva's review

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Pedophilia

blainereads's review

dark reflective slow-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? Yes

3.5

3.5 Stars—I think had I not just read Winter in Sokcho, this one might have earned an extra star, but it seems the two stories seek to do something similar and I've come to discover that I just prefer the visceral, vivid, lush descriptions of place over pain. 

With that said, coming from a Very Cold New England town myself, I can attest to the accuracy with which the author painted every horrid detail; perhaps had I not come from such a place or witnessed such depravity, this book would have been even more impressive or shocking in its scope, but it lacked a certain narrative dynamism so what's supposed to be "the reveal" at the end was nothing more than a foregone conclusion. (I also think the chapters about the Lowells and Cabots actually did a disservice to the rest of the story—it took away from the fragility and subtly, in a way. It felt a bit heavy-handed and out of place and didn't add much by way of context to the story; the social class discussions would still have been understood loud and clear without these passages.)

Content Warnings: Child Abuse, Sexual Assault, Molestation, Disordered Eating, Mental Illness, Self-Harm, Voluntary Institutionalization, Incest, Suicidal Ideation

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Self harm

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Eating disorder