Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Cry Baby - Scharfe Schnitte by Gillian Flynn

138 reviews

miss_hva's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Alcoholism, and Self harm

Moderate: Drug abuse, Vomit, and Murder

cateyeschloe's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

My main praise of this book is that it had a really excellent twist ending. The twist, while not wholly surprising, was deeply disturbing in its reveal, and I really enjoyed that aspect. 

The writing is interesting; however, the word “fine” jumps to mind more than any other in regard to the writing style. That being said, the story is definitely compelling. There’s a great mystery and the characters are complex and intriguing. 

Hands down, the thing I grappled with the most about this book is the rampant misogyny throughout, especially internalized in the main character. I feel like tackling misogyny and the way society treats women as a whole is a big part of Gillian Flynn’s writing, in general, but I definitely struggled with it here. 

I think one of the most compelling quotes in the entire book, to me, though is when someone asks:

“Besides, why would a woman do something like that?”

and the response given is:

“Why would a man do something like that?”

The book shines a light on the idea that women can only (and should only) be feminine, soft, vulnerable, submissive, etc. 

Wind Gap has instilled in its citizens that woman are one dimensional creatures who serve their purpose as wife and mother and sister and daughter. Even the main character carries the scars of these ideals with her. 

“… Wind Gap, a town that demands utmost femininity in its fairer sex…”

“‘I don’t mean this to sound cruel… but it seems like a part of your heart can never work if you don’t have kids. Like it will always be shut off.’”

“‘…I mean there’s all this talk these days of God versus science, but it seems like, with babies, both sides agree. The Bible says be fruitful and multiply, and science, well, when it all boils down, that’s what women were made for, right? To bear children.’”

At one point, after a schoolgirl has been forced to do something sexually she did not want to do, a teacher makes her apologize, citing:

“‘Young ladies must be in control of their bodies because boys are not.’”

Everyone in town (including the main character) insists a man must be the killer, that women aren’t often killers, and they seem to imply that this is because women are too physically weak and mentally soft for such things. 

“Women didn’t kill this way, they just didn’t. You could count the list of female serial killers on one hand, and their victims were almost always male…”

Camille is the only character in the book that I truly struggled with. Her internalized misogyny is so prevalent and her version of feminism is so wildly misplaced that it circles all the way back around to putting women down, to the point when she rails:

“‘You’re sexiest. I’m so sick of liberal lefty men practicing sexual discrimination under the guise of protecting women against sexual discrimination…

“‘… And sometimes drunk women aren’t raped; they just make stupid choices - and to say we deserve special treatment when we’re drunk because we’re women, to say we need to be looked after, I find offensive.’”

I could be missing something and be glossing over the bigger picture, but often I find my expectations in a setting such as this to be that the main character, at minimum, has enough character growth to counter statements and ideals such as these by the end of the book. 

Camille doesn’t really make it there, and I find it difficult to hold up a main character  as a beacon of feminism or overcoming the plague of misogyny when she consistently has so many bad, dangerous, and self-deprecating takes. 

And maybe that was never the author’s intention. Maybe Camille isn’t supposed to represent growth to us, maybe she just has to take the beating of misogyny and be an example to us of what can (and does) happen under its influence. 

If that’s the case, then I understand that and can say that writing choice simply wasn’t for me. 

And despite my nit-picky criticisms and overanalyzing, I definitely did enjoy the story and thought it had a very satisfying twist at the end. 

I’d like to give this one another read at some point and digest a little more of its perspective. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Grief, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Sexism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Medical content, and Drug use

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, and Suicide

There are many graphic displays of active self harm and the effects self harm leave behind. It is integral to the plot and prevalent throughout.

There is a side character who commits suicide while in a hospital for their mental state.

Child abuse from a parent is prevalent throughout and very disturbing.

smixter88's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

I don't really know how to put my review into words. It's a very intense, dark, and disturbing book. I was unsure I'd be able to finish it. I did not read what this book was about. I saw the cover and one quote on the front of the book. That's what I get for judging a book by the cover. It's a bad habit I have. I put the book down telling myself I wasn't going to finish. In fact I opened another book up and started to read it. While reading the other book, I kept thinking about this one and if justice was served. That's when I found myself reading this book again. Her writing is great. She really knows how to draw you in. Had I known what was in this book, I wouldn't have read it. I can't say that I'd recommend it unless you have absolutely zero triggers because this book is full of them. Almost every page has one. This is her debut novel. What a way to start your career. It's hard for me to rate this book. Did she suck me in? Yes. Did it disturb the hell out of me? 1,000% yes. Did I enjoy the book? Unknown. Will it live rent free in my head for far too long? Yup. I usually have a star rating system, but I can't use that for this book, because by no means does it need to be up on someones TBR. Unless you absolutely can leave your feelings and your stomach at coat check. I'll be rating it based on her writing, her ability to grab my attention, and need more. For that I have to give her five stars. Read at your own risk. Check the trigger warnings and READ what the book is about before you crack it open. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual content, Torture, Cursing, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Drug use, Grief, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

readmeaplant's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Grief, Murder, Blood, Child death, Body horror, and Self harm

jordanh's review against another edition

2.5

I know this was intentionally disturbing, I know this was meant to make you uncomfortable, I know that. But there were many elements of this that felt disturbing just for the sake of being disturbing, and served nothing to the actual plot. And I'm still not really sure how I feel about books that are uncomfortable just for the sake of it. I absolutely think there should be room for disconcerting content in art because art is meant to make you feel something and sometimes that something should be negative, but if it's simply eliciting negative emotion for no reason, what's being accomplished? Does something always need to be accomplished from art or can it be successful if all it's done is make its audience feel something? I don't know, I haven't decided my stance on that.

However, this was uncomfortable in ways I absolutely did not enjoy. I don't know exactly how old Camille is, but I do know she's too old to be partying with a bunch of 13 year olds and doing drugs with them, I know she's too old to be having sex with an 18 year old, and I know she's too old to be so hung up on the bodies of 13 year old girls. I do not like how many times the boobs of teenage girls were described. I don't like how often boobs were described in general, but more specifically the boobs of teenage girls. Terrible. I also don't understand why there was a scene with Camille and her 13 year old sister tonguing in a game that involved orally passing drugs around. I don't like that just a few scenes later they also slept in the same bed and the 13 year old was almost totally naked. 

Yes, this 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Murder, Body horror, Child death, and Self harm

lucy_gray's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Body horror

Moderate: Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Murder, and Rape

Minor: Fatphobia, Vomit, and Sexual violence

ahopper7's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Body horror, Death, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Murder, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Addiction, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Chronic illness, and Mental illness

Moderate: Drug use, Cursing, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Animal death, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

ireneac's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, and Child death

thewoodlandbookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, Gore, Vomit, Medical trauma, Grief, Death, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Murder, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Blood, Sexual content, Rape, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, and Emotional abuse

cinthiaurora's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.0

Every woman in a Gillian Flynn novel is just The Worst. And I love that for them. 
I think she’s a very talented writer but in some instances throughout this book the way she presents new info felt a little off. 

  For example, the cutting.
For something that Flynn really emphasized plagues Camille’s every waking thought and influences every aspect of how she interacts with others, it just felt funny to “reveal” it half way through the novel. A novel being narrated by Camille no less. 
Same thing with Adora’s violent tendencies. Up until Camille recalls the cheek biting incident, Adora was just presented to be a slightly overbearing, distant but possibly well-meaning mother. For being such a core memory you would think she would have brought this up, just, like, a little bit sooner. I understand the way to build suspense and all the strategies authors use to “leave breadcrumbs” in a story all the way up until the final climax. I understand the reason why these things couldn’t all be brought up at once. But sometimes it just felt like Camille had this selective amnesia until it was convenient for the narrative. 
It felt funny, that’s all. But that’s just me being nitpicky.
Another thing that felt weird was the way Richard and Camille just, never spoke again immediately after the climax. I’m not saying it’s not realistic or that I craved any further “romance” between them, it just felt like a loose end Flynn didn’t know how to tie up so it was dropped altogether. 

Anyways, those are just some of my thoughts. Great novel overall. Very twisted (in a good way) exploration of the  dynamic between mother and daughter- which was rightfully the center focus of the book. Everything beyond that isn’t worth nitpicking too much. (Unless you’re like me and you like nitpicking :)) 
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Self harm, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Body horror, Bullying, Drug use, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Rape, Child death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Vomit

Minor: Animal death, Classism, Sexism, and Misogyny