Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

57 reviews

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Messy, gross, hilarious, I was laughing at so many lines and quoting them to my wife, who looked at me in horror. It’s really, really good, y’all.

Oddly enough, I think I’d compare it to My Sister, The Serial Killer in pacing and speed and bloodshed.

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adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Bloody funny

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challenging dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Now this is what I mean when I say give me an anti-hero. This was wild in the best possible way. Be prepared for gore though — and a lot of it.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark funny tense fast-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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dark fast-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

This book had so much potential to be good and failed. 
There were some nice ideas but it did not live up to them.
I know the clue is in the name but let's be clear this is a harmful and discriminatory portrayal of mental illness, personality disorder and psychosis. 
It does not explore the nuance of mental illness at all despite a few lines early on hinting that it could. The mentions of "female hysteria" initially got my hopes up and this could have been a very cool way of examining the historic concept of female histeria and how we treat women's legal and physical health and the impact of misogyny. Instead there were just the occasional line thrown in here and there which went no further. Even the inclusion of sexism and misogyny within the setting came across as tropes rather than any sort of satire or narrative device. 

Some of the writing is great. Some of the phrases are well crafted pleasing to read. 
Some of the writing comes across as lazy, awkward and a first draft. I believe there is an argument to be made that this is from the first person and this is supposed to reflect the inner working of the MC but it just could have been done better. 

I am aware that the protagonist is supposed to be an unreliable narrator, but the comes a point where the line is blurred between unreliable narrator and unreliable writer.




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dark funny lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito...what can I say? This novel was a breeze to read at just 192 pages, I finished it over the course of about three hours including pauses for me to tab the ever-loving heck out of it. Not knowing the tone going in I was initially a bit jarred by the satirical nature of a lot of it, but quickly fell in love. It’s funny, it’s gruesome, it’s weird, it’s poignant in a lot of ways...it’s just a damn good novel! We follow Winifred Notty, a governess arriving at her new post with the Pounds family at Ensor House. We very, very quickly learn that Miss Notty has something quite wrong with her that she is intimately aware of and relishes in. We follow her descent into depravity and madness as we get to see just what she gets up to with the residents of Ensor house, along with its guests and staff. This book has an ending you will never forget. 


I was pleasantly surprised that not only is Victorian Psycho a fun ride of a read, but it also has quite a few things to say. It tackles themes of misogyny and classism and the way those two things overlap. It tackles the expectations we place on young girls, especially affluent young girls, and how those expectations are worlds different for young boys. It tackles the inherent absurdity and detachment that can come with wealth and privilege. It’s never heavy handed—or, well, it’s isn’t preachy. It smacks you in the face with the obvious message quite often but always in a tongue in cheek way, a little side wink to us, the reader, from Winifred. 


This novel I think is going to easily slot itself into my top three favorite reads of 2025. I can’t see it getting knocked out by anything other than an absolute miracle of a novel. I’m excited to see if it will take the number one slot! Give this one a go. You absolutely will not regret it. 

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dark funny mysterious fast-paced
Loveable characters: No

A fun, quick, gruesome read. The descriptions of eating food were especially viscerally disgusting. If you've ever hated an employer, or you just hate the stupidly, corruptly wealthy, I think you might like this one. Definitely not for the squeamish, though.

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was brilliant ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

A gothic horror mixed with dark comedy and wit. 
Victorian Psycho is devilishly clever, atmospheric, macabre and funny whilst oozing Victorian decadence all at the same time. 
 
I bloody loved it!!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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