Reviews tagging 'Child death'

McGlue by Ottessa Moshfegh

7 reviews

inhaledmocha's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I genuinely have no words for how I feel about this book. 

The way it's written you really get inside the head of a very very sick person for a short amount of time. It was worth reading (I got through it in one sitting so that says something) but I am truly depressed and now I need to touch grass and cry.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Self harm

Moderate: Child death and Violence

kutreen's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I picked this up because I have been hearing a lot about this author but thought that reading My Year of Rest and Relaxation would sink me deeper into depression. 

Damn! I'm really impressed by Moshfegh. She reeled me into the drunken stupor/brain damaged/denial-stage-of-grief cloudiness of McGlue's mind without getting too abstract or confusing. McGlue is in and out of consciousness as memories from his time spent with the man he allegedly killed (but had a quite vulnerable brother-like bond--which you can guess what that means when it's between two sailors in the 1850s) intermix with memories from his poor and emotionally neglected childhood, intermix with him currently trying to process his situation as he awaits trial while withdrawing from alcoholism and having a huge untreated gash in his head. We can empathize with McGlue's pain much more than he could allow himself to at that time. 

The most unpalatable parts for me were the ways McGlue referred to gay men, women, and black people, but I suppose it's true to how a man like that at that time would have referred to them.

Looking back not sure I could get through this if I was more emotionally vulnerable right now, but luckily it was a quick read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Vomit, Grief, Homophobia, Biphobia, Confinement, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Murder, Child death, and Sexual harassment

alexandrabelze's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.25

look, i love otessa moshfegh’s writing style, but i can’t looks past the recurrent use of slurs throughout the book. it would be different if they only appeared every once in a while, but there were times when there were 3+ slurs on a single page. and i didn’t fuck with that. i understand what she was trying to pull off with the narrator, but it was too extreme. i love a good unlikeable or unreliable narrator—if done right. mcglue was not done right. it could’ve been done right if it had been written as “gay pirates with internalized homophobia learn to love each other and themselves.” sadly, i would instead describe this as “the narrator drops the f slur and racist comments every ten sentences while pining for another man.” disappointment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Cursing, Racism, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Vomit, Blood, Confinement, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Body horror

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Violence

Minor: Sexual content, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Child death, Rape, Murder, and Slavery

nialiversuch's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Addiction, Fatphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Blood, Child death, Classism, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia

gracetrimper's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Misogyny, Excrement, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Alcohol, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Violence, Body horror, Sexual content, Murder, Gore, Child death, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Confinement, and Addiction

kazy's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

reading mcglue is like picking at a festering wound i didn’t realize i had but now that i’ve noticed it i can’t stop digging my finger into it again and again and again until eventually i’ve got this big ugly hole where chunks of flesh used to be but i’m still running up to people i know asking if they would please consider trying this new form of self-mutilation. 

the VA for the audiobook is very good and really brings it  to life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

redgypsophila's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Homophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts