Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

19 reviews

mxpringle's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

My opinions on this book are very complicated. At the beginning, I loved the format of the story and the plot had me on the edge of my seat. I think the way that Pessl crafted this story was truly masterful in that the reader is never quite sure what the reality is. However, as the book went on, I began to become frustrated with how it felt like nothing had really been uncovered in the investigation that was occurring in the book. I felt like I was being led on. In addition, so much of the book was filled with racism, sexism, and transphobia all perpetrated by the protagonist, whose authority on these matters was never questioned. As a trans person, the demonization of trans women in horror for a simple "creep factor" is getting very archaic, and Pessl's use of that trope disgusted me. In addition, the bizarre and unnecessary romance between the middle aged protagonist and his teenage assistant left me feeling slimy and uncomfortable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Transphobia, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexism, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Trafficking, Violence, Terminal illness, and Stalking

Minor: Mental illness and Medical content

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.
Everyone that knows my reading tastes knows how much I adored "Neverworld Wake", and because of that love I have waited to read "Night Film". Marisha Pessl's writing is simply magic to me, and because her backlist is so short, I have been waiting to read her other stories so I can really savor them. "Night Film" was 1000% worth the wait and I already want to read it again!
This novel follows Scott McGrath, a disgraced journalist who ruined his career by sharing disparaging remarks about esteemed film director Stanislaus Cordova on national TV. Cordova has remained a mystery for years, and he has not been seen by the public for decades. This elusiveness has made him a huge topic of interest for those who love his movies. Cordova's daughter, Ashley, is found dead at 24-years-old in an abandoned warehouse. With this shocking news taking the world by storm, Scott finds himself sucked back into Cordova's mysterious world trying to uncover what really happened to Ashley and finally unveil who Cordova is. 
I loved everything about this book. There are some mixed media elements throughout the book that made the reading experience all the more memorable, as well as making us, the readers, feel like we are finding clues along with Scott. The mystery keeps twisting and morphing as the story goes, and by the time the ending comes, it is difficult to decipher what ended up being the truth. There is a somewhat ambiguous ending that I felt like highlighted Cordova's mysteries life perfectly. Marisha left the perfect trail of breadcrumbs to lead us to uncovering all of the secrets surrounding Ashley's death, but I still was shocked by most of the reveals. 
I cannot recommend this book enough! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Torture, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Kidnapping, Child death, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement

Minor: Cancer and Car accident

ro_lux's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Body horror, Gore, Suicide, and Transphobia

Moderate: Cancer, Fatphobia, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Alcohol, Car accident, Grief, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Confinement, Violence, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Racism

ripxw's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Transphobia, Cancer, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, and Terminal illness

limina's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I LOVED this book. It reminded me of many others, but especially Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis. I was totally engrossed. Fun Fact- there's bonus material on the author's website. At the end of the book it mentions an app but it appears to be defunct. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide

Moderate: Death, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Sexual assault

tessieferro's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.0

Idiotic plot twist and insufferable narrator/main character (and frankly, a big bigot) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Suicide

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical content, Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Torture

Minor: Addiction, Body horror, Car accident, and Transphobia

kaitlyn15's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

1.0

Okay like the book was good (that ending was way too dragged out though) but throwing in the t-slur is just not it. This book was written in 2013 (I think?), that language was absolutely not acceptable then (or now).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Terminal illness

Moderate: Racism

charliebookfanatic's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I was enthralled by this book the first time I read it and it's so good to finally reread a book that didn't disappoint me the second time around. I fell in love with this all over again. It may be because I made a creative video about it for my youtube channel, but I love all of the characters and exploring with them. I did rate it lower this time, though. This is because of the ending. We never actually get to know what is the truth about it all. It doesn't annoy me, but it's still something I would have liked to know. 

Overall, this was a solid read and I'll never forget this book. It'll have a special place in my heart for a long time.

EDIT 11/17/2020: This is the third time I've read this book and the first time since 2017. Still as amazingly good as before and definitely one of my favorite books ever. This is the perfect mystery thriller for me. It starts slowly, but is so atmospheric that it pulls you into what Scott experiences and comes to believe. The group of characters in this book are also nice and diverse in personality and fun to read about. I'm not a huge fan of the ending, but I have come to appreciate it more although I don't think I will ever fully support it.

Definitely worth reading. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Terminal illness, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Child abuse, and Cancer

therefugeofbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Suicide, Violence, and Forced institutionalization