Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca

56 reviews

sleepyshelves's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Ew.

A collection of short stories that have been ruining my brain and rotting my bones.

Eric LaRocca writes religious existentialism so well. Christ-figures adorn each story in this collection. Crucifying the believer and challenging nonbelievers alike, LaRocca can tie a noose and execute the reader without them seeing it coming. Wild.

I still can’t figure out how his relationship with his mom must be if they keep dedicating these stories to her and her faith. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Child death, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, and Pregnancy

lordslag's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

This was my first time ever reading a short story collection and I had super low expectations because everybody I’ve seen talk about it hateddd the last two stories but I liked all of them. They didn’t move me or anything but I enjoyed reading them all the same. Not an all time favorite but looking forward to re-reading eventually. I don’t think any of the stories are like super horrific or disturbing and crazy, so if that's what you’re looking for maybe pass but they were all fun quick reads to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Blood, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Child death, Pregnancy, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death, and Vomit

thebechdelbitch's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

Some cool and creepy ideas in here but I kept being pulled out of the stories by how little these characters behaved like real people (obviously there is only so realistic you can get when someone

agrees to voluntarily contract a tapeworm for their Dom

but even in everyday interactions everyone seemed to be totally lacking in motivation or realistic drives). The middle story was especially lacking, but the final story turned things around somewhat as it seemed to live in a more "magical realism" world from the off. 

Also Finneas. It's kind of worth reading for Finneas.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicide, and Child death

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Grief, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

plumsdeify's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Grief, Gore, and Emotional abuse

alexandmor's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Body horror, and Child death

rowstream's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

- Älskar formatet med utdrag av chattkonversationer och mail i 1:a novellen. Gör att vilken text som helst känns mer lättläst. 
- Älskar att det lämnas mycket för tolkning och spekulation. 
- Älskar att det hela tiden ligger en tryckande känsla av obehag genom alla 3 novellerna. 
- Älskar författarens skrivsätt. 

- Varför parasiter?! Hujedamig. 
- Uppskattar mindre sonens dödsfall i 2:a novellen då den verkar OMÖJLIG. Men alla har artistisk frihet, jag kan bara inte se hur det är möjligt?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Suicide, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, and Miscarriage

dexlud's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes is a beautiful short story collection by Eric LaRocca, consisting of 3 beautifully told horror stories that make your blood run cold. My favourite story was the second one, The Enlightenment. I found the storytelling amazing and loved it so much! My least favourite was the final one, You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over, which was amazing and I still loved, just not as much as the other two.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Child death, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Self harm

Moderate: Vomit

jalecd's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke - 4/5
An unsettling depiction of obsession, kink, and how human nature often makes us seek out the very things that destroy us. A visceral and uncomfortable read.

The Enchantment - 2/5
With key themes of religiosity, grief, and what grief can do to the human psyche, I expected a bit more from the plot. Ultimately, I was left with more questions than answers, and honestly a bit confused by the plot. 

You’ll Find It’s Like That Over - 3/5
An enjoyable read commenting on people pleasing and the human desire to maintain social etiquette no matter the cost. It was a bit anti-climactic but I enjoyed the build up 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Child death, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Self harm, Grief, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

Minor: Lesbophobia and Racism

madelinequinne's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

3.5

Interesting ideas in the book, but from how much i’ve seen it hyped up online, it disappointed me slightly. It wasn’t as disturbing as I expected, but I did enjoy the stories, especially Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. Each story gave me Black Mirror vibes, and i’d love to see them adapted for screen one day!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Body horror, Grief, Mental illness, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide

caidyn'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I read Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke another time, then I bought this little collection. I wasn't as into the other two stories compared to the first. Still good, but not as compelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicide, Body horror, Child death, Gore, and Grief