Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver

18 reviews

annie_brewer's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Read via audiobook (Orion Publishing Group Limited)

. Delivered through letters, Eva's tone alludes to indifference and 

The nuances within Kevin and Eva's relationship are expertly crafted, rendering the relationship constantly at risk of obliteration. Teetering between obliteration and mutual respect

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - Unspecified but implied.

fernash's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Violence, Child death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Mass/school shootings, Body horror, and Cursing

Moderate: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Rape, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, and Sexual content

Minor: Antisemitism, Medical trauma, Drug use, Bullying, Incest, Racial slurs, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Homophobia

annahollamby's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-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

3.0

thought-provoking, disturbing, and ultimately, i fear, unforgettable. the detailed writing really adds to the realism of the story. eva, our narrator, is unlikeable but certainly enthralling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Animal death, Grief, Gaslighting, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Excrement, Child abuse, Mass/school shootings, and Gun violence

lindsayvale's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Eating disorder, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Gun violence, Violence, Gore, Pregnancy, and Death

goblinghost_39's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Violence, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, and Gun violence

madelinequinne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

5.0

Well this certainly cemented the fact that I don’t ever want kids. Kevin continuously made me so angry throughout this novel, and the absolute heartbreak i felt at the end when we find out he murdered his little sister too, that just absolutely broke me. This is such a difficult book at times because of how awful the topic is, but overall I would just describe this book as sad. It’s incredibly well written, and this is the most emotion i’ve ever felt after reading a book to date, so brb, gonna go cry 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Child death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Eating disorder, Blood, Death of parent, Classism, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Racism

anhedonia_n_anomie's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Torture, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Mass/school shootings

phantomgecko's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Character wise, everyone sucks in this book.

Franklin sucks in general, but in regards to a child, he sucked hardcore. A great way to ruin your marriage is to put your kids first. And like, yeah postpartum depression and even postpartum psychosis make Eva a little rough, but dang dude. He didn't need to gaslight her like that. If you legit take the word of your child over your spouse, you're proving the trust in your relationship isn't there. And if you don't trust each other, what is the point?

Is Eva an unreliable narrator? Probably? Should she have had kids? With her motivations, probably not. Did she try her damnedest? Looks like it. Should she have gotten her entire family counseling? Yeah, baby! She also should have stood up for herself more? But these things aren't what makes her suck. It's the stuck up, hypocritical attitude that Kevin rightly points out. (This side of her doesn't come out super often throughout, so she sucks the least.)

And obviously Kevin sucks because that's the point of the book.

There's a lot of philosophizing and social commentary and introspection in this book. Like it's 66% that. Interesting monologue, but it does make everything drag so

Also don't think the nasty mess with the drama teacher was necessary. It was overtly obscene. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings and Sexual content

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Animal death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Sexism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Murder, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

triangular_pascal's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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

2.75

Extremely uncomfortable to read -then again, perhaps that's the point, to confront that which makes us uneasy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Murder, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Body horror, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Murder, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Bullying, Racism, Sexism, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Body shaming, and Gaslighting

ajlct's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

2.0

It's an excellent technical display of unlikeable characters and an unreliable narrator, but ultimately there was nothing redeeming about this book that made me glad to have read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gun violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Medical trauma, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Child death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Violence