Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Lost Souls by Poppy Brite

8 reviews

reaperreads's review

challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Cannibalism, Abortion, Self harm, Gore, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Rape, Homophobia, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Murder, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Incest, Body horror, and Cancer

dirigitive's review

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Blood, Toxic relationship, and Rape

Moderate: Drug use and Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit

sigynmoon's review

dark sad tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Rape, Pregnancy, Incest, and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny and Ableism

essie85's review

dark slow-paced

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

2.5

Lolita but with a boy and vampires, without the social critique of Lolita. It had promise, and seemed to want to say something about youth culture, but then failed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Child abuse, Death, and Drug use

menderash's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.0

Lost Souls is my first Poppy Z Brite book, but it won't be my last.

Mr Brite has a knack for writing books about horrible people doing horrible things, often for little to no reason, with minimal plot except to make the next horrible thing happen. His main characters are all murderers, rapists, cannibals, necrophiles, or the people who love them anyway. The prose is a means to an end; the end being the reader's hopeful erotic satisfaction of reading someone get nearly decapitated in vivid, lovingly described detail.

Brite's books (the two I've read) seem to hold no greater point than to either turn you on or gross you out, probably both. The violence is pointless, the plots are pointless, the morals are hopeless. But you know what? Brite is such an emotionally charged, evocative, talented writer, that I can't help but be hypnotized by his ability to make me sit down and devour a novel in one sitting. He makes me care about the few morally sound characters even though I know something unspeakable is about to happen to them. He explores the nuance of monstrosity in his uhh. Less morally sound characters.

I think my most sound, least hypocritical criticisms of Brite's work is a) his exploitation of real victims of real tragedies and b) his handling or lack thereof of characters of color. The few non-white characters in his work are relegated to the occasional dead body, future victim, or stereotyped backdrop. Then again, considering the kind of character Brite centers as his protagonists, do I really want him, as a white man, to portray a character of color that way? I'm fine with Brite's beloved monsters being mostly white men.

TL;DR: Absolutely disgusting. Awesome ride. Will read again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Car accident, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Murder, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Drug use, Gore, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, and Incest

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Animal death, and Self harm

clownrambles's review

dark 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

Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, and Rape

brokenlyrium's review

dark mysterious sad 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

0.25

I initially DNF'd this book at 40% because it was, quite frankly, gross. Curiosity got the better of me in the end, however, and I picked it back up a week later. I wish I hadn't. No one in this book is likeable or redeemable, it's gross taboo fetishes for the sake of gross taboo fetishes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia and Incest

loz_ange's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Blood, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Child death, Death, Alcoholism, Car accident, Gore, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death