Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

11 reviews

gossamer_lens's review

adventurous dark tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

I just... so good. I loved it. The ending wasn't how I would have wanted it ended... but reflecting on it, it was perfectly satisfying, well-written and enjoyable. It was very Neil Gaiman esq in the way the plot progressed and the whole vibe was a fun dark and mysterious thing. I went into it expecting more horror/thriller which it wasn't. But I kinda loved it for that. It feels like something that will sit in my brain for longer due to what it actually is. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

alexandryareads's review

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Sexism and Religious bigotry

paigehf's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, Torture, Blood, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

regina_184's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

2.75

Although very short, this book has a lot of interesting plot points and I liked how it included lots of mythology from different regions.

I wish this book was longer because I think the characters are very interesting. Overally this book is a little creepy and gory so it's perfect for Halloween season! However the language is a little flowery so it can be hard to understand the imagery at some points. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Pregnancy

laurareads87's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.5

"Mermaid. A word that demonstrates the ineptitude of human language, and the species' predisposition for ingantalizing the unknown. ... [P]alatability is prized over accuracy. It is easier to market a nymph than a viperfish."

The Salt Grows Heavy is a horror/fantasy novella of a murderous mermaid and a gender non-conforming plague doctor travelling through a near-dead kingdom, each with a traumatic past to contend with.  Very well written, though it's hard to say 'beautifully written' when the subject matter is, very often, viscera.  Heed the content warnings on this one - not for the faint of heart.

Content warnings: graphic gore & body horror throughout. Cannibalism is on page & described in detail. Blood, death, deaths of children, murder, violence, medical content, medical experimentation, misogyny, sexism, abuse, spousal abuse, rape (not on-page or described in any detail), kidnapping, mass murder, cult violence / religiously motivated abuse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

uncreativeoops's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

Took me a while to get into but once the main characters had an actual goal i was hooked. Gorgeous writing and creative similes; you either spend a very long time reading it to catch everything or you can find new things upon rereading it. The body horror is also very graphic in a lyrical way. I have no idea, where the setting was supposed to be, how the world or magic works. This felt like history, fantasy, and postapocalyptic at once and I didn't even mind. Also yes to violent reinterpretations of mermaids; beings from the ocean are terrifying and this should apply to mythological male fantasies as well.

Also I wasn't expecting the most raw love confession followed by torture followed by characters dying several times followed by a Frankensteinesque scene that had me giggling (??) and I still haven't processed it.

I was expecting the body horror, but not body horror mixed with so many emotions it was WILD.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

itsheyfay's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Minor: Death of parent

booksthatburn's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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

THE SALT GROWS HEAVY is technically the story of a plague doctor and a mermaid, a description which does not do nearly enough to imply how cool and weird this book is. The main character is not nameless, but her name is explicitly one that cannot be pronounced by humans, and so neither does the story render it in a form I could repeat. It deals with cycles of abuse, a religious cult, deprogramming, reclaiming agency, and the need to rescue someone in a bad situation like the one you yourself previously escaped. It’s also about a group of children worshiping a trio of surgeons who claim that death is not murder because they’ll be brought back to life. The children become more and more distorted, changing into a strange collection of remnants in the hands of those who would use and abuse them under claim of immortality.

Khaw's style has clearly developed more since HAMMERS ON BONE (also excellent), and this is less of a romp than THE ALL-CONSUMING WORLD. It has their willingness to just let a story be bleak without being depressing, finding hope interwoven with death, plus a strange interlude into cult deprogramming. It is specifically a follow up to one of the stories from the collection BREAKABLE THINGS, called "And in Our Daughters, We Find a Voice". That story is included in the back of THE SALT GROWS HEAVY for anyone who needs a refresher.

THE SALT GROWS HEAVY is a truly excellent piece of horror. I’m very glad I read it. I hope you like it too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Sexism, Vomit, and Grief

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

"And in Our Daughters, We Find a Voice" - Graphic CW for blood, gore, death. Moderate CW for toxic relationship, confinement, pregnancy, miscarriage, violence, cannibalism.

existentialhell's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexism and Sexual violence

emthemermaid's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I already love the author's writing, and this book had everything I love in it--horror, romance, monstrous mermaids--so I was very excited to read this. It's dark, delicious, and poetic. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Torture, Violence, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexism