Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

68 reviews

giggles692's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

This is probably one of the most challenging books I've ever read - I probably picked it up and started it 5 times across 10 years before finally getting through it all. Literary wise it's a thrill - keeping track of the the characters in all their timelines and perspectives was a challenge, and I loved the way the book showed all the different ways the house affected folks. Definitely recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, and Drug use

Moderate: Sexual assault and Murder

abea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

so_many_ocs's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

nerdkitten's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Car accident, Drug use, Child abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Addiction, Excrement, Sexual assault, Body horror, Child death, Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Misogyny, Ableism, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Abortion, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Incest, Racism, Suicide attempt, War, and Vomit

briannafenty's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Gun violence, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual assault

yaslanna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction and Suicide

Minor: Infidelity and Panic attacks/disorders

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-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

5.0

It’s just a normal book. 🙂

It’s just a normal book. 

It’s just a normal book. 

It’s JUST a normal book.

      It’s just a NORMAL book.

It’s just a normal BOOK. 

It’s just a normal

book.

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It’s just  | al book. It’s just a normal b | a 

normal  | ook. It’s just a normal book | book. 

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normal  | s just a normal book. It’s ju  | book. 

It’s just  | st a normal book. It’s just a | a 

normal  | normal book. It’s just a nor  | book. 

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It’s 

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                                       .

               

It’s just a normal book. 🙃

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Child abuse, Sexual content, Confinement, Death, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Mental illness, Suicide, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Gun violence, Cancer, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Excrement, Murder, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, and Grief

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

siggney's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Addiction, Animal death, and Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

honest_soupe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-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

5.0

Absolutely amazing read. Wish they had let me think my thoughts on characters were original though! Please stop saying exactly what I was thinking about people. It makes it harder for me to feel smart about it lol.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Child abuse, Cursing, Violence, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Addiction, Grief, Sexual content, Blood, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Gaslighting, Cultural appropriation, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

will be writing an essay on this. will be also have the greatest bit where I will point at any house with leaves nearby for any reason and say "OMG it's just like that thing!!!"

monroebays's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

This book demands much more of you than most, but it is so worth it. I’m sure every review says it but I’m gonna say it again: I can’t describe it, really. Just give it a try.

This is a book about a man piecing together an unfinished academic book about a documentary about a very strange house. The story of the man working on the book and the book itself make up the majority of the text. As you can imagine, it’s confusing and very layered. At some point, it starts to try to loop you into the story.

Danielewski is obsessed with the mechanics of words, paper, and knowledge. This book presents you with a tangled mess, carefully curated to confuse you, move you, scare you. And because danielewski’s deep knowledge of words is on display, you’re left wondering how fully that mess can be cleaned up into a full narrative if only you read it properly. I finished the book with many mysteries unsolved, but find myself drawn back to the book again to investigate further. If you’ve read the book already, you understand why this effect is probably why the book’s horror is so effective. 

At the end of the day, the story is kind of secondary to the reading experience. It’s crazy. It’s fun. It’s dark and sad and weird. Just give it a few chapters and see if it’s for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Violence, Vomit, Infidelity, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, and War