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corsetedfeminist's review
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-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? It's complicated
3.0
I found this book somewhat disappointing as a whole, perhaps because I expected too much of a collection of short stories focused on body horror and the transgender/nonbinary experience.
First, for the good things: when the stories in this book are good, they are excellent. Two in particular properly unnerved and stuck with me- that of a monk impregnated and forcibly feminized by a succubus, and that of a pastor’s wife struggling with gender and the expectations of womanhood in a very queered Stepford wives.
That being said, many of the stories just didn’t resonate with me- much of the prose across these stories leaned a bit purple for me, focusing too much on the imagery and the words than the reality of the body horror and the connection to the queer experience. They felt detached, almost. Perhaps it is that there isn’t time in a short story to learn to love the characters in the same way, I’m not certain. I can absolutely see these stories being very meaningful for a different person, it just didn’t work for me.
First, for the good things: when the stories in this book are good, they are excellent. Two in particular properly unnerved and stuck with me- that of a monk impregnated and forcibly feminized by a succubus, and that of a pastor’s wife struggling with gender and the expectations of womanhood in a very queered Stepford wives.
That being said, many of the stories just didn’t resonate with me- much of the prose across these stories leaned a bit purple for me, focusing too much on the imagery and the words than the reality of the body horror and the connection to the queer experience. They felt detached, almost. Perhaps it is that there isn’t time in a short story to learn to love the characters in the same way, I’m not certain. I can absolutely see these stories being very meaningful for a different person, it just didn’t work for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
rydwyn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Torture, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
This anthology starts out with a bang, with one of the best introductions I've ever read. The first half also has the best stories, so it starts out fantastic, and stays at that level for awhile. The "energy level" does die down in the second half with more traditional feeling stories, and a few that don't really match with what the prompt seems to be.
This could have done with more proofreading, as there are some very blatant mistakes that definitely should have been caught. There are at least several instances of repeating words, such as "throat sore throat", or even entire repeated sentences. (It is obvious that these are not intentional) There are also some typos, such as "don't't".
As someone who is not generally a fan of body horror, I went into this book feeling nervous that it might be too much for me. That was not the case at all, and there are actually very few stories in here that made me feel squeamish. Not every story deals with body horror, and only a handful take it to the extreme. So if you feel nervous like I did, I'd definitely give it a try, as I honestly think the first half of this book are some of the best short stories I've ever read.
I'm going to list each story in this collection, give a one sentence summary, and also list any content warnings that the book listed. The content warnings for this are listed on the very last page, so I figure it'd probably be good to include them in my review. It does also say, "some degree of violence, gore, sex and/or death is present in most of these stories," so the content warnings are in addition to that.
THE FLENSING LENS
An apparatus with blades is inserted into a man's eye, travels down his body, and exits out his anus. Just a two page story. I have no idea how to feel about that.
TONSILSTONESPUNKSPLATTER666!
Someone with what seems to be DID is targeted by a hate group. You might not understand a few paragraphs if you aren't familiar with internet culture.
CW: Violent transmisogyny, partner emotional abuse, ableism, rape
HIGH MAINTENANCE
Heartbreaking story. You can see what's going on immediately. A man continually "upgrades" his Android lover.
CW: Domestic abuse
THE INFINITE BEING
A couple who does heists together in a world of magic make the mistake of accepting a job to steal a Sorcerer's ring.
BROTHER MATERNITAS
A monk, who was transformed into a woman by a demon, hides their pregnancy.
CW: Sexual assault, miscarriage
THE SAME THING THAT HAPPENED TO SAM
Tiny man made creatures called worms, are placed in the brain to "correct" your sexuality. Very short, but hard hitting.
CW: Child abuse
BALLAD OF THE PEST
A person discovers mice in their apartment, but the traps aren't catching anything.
PLAYING HOUSE
A housewife isn't exactly happy with how her life has turned out.
CW: Domestic Abuse
HYBRID
Human-animal hybrids are created by the government for the elimination of targets.
CW: Animal Death
CHOLESTEROL-MONOXIDE
A guy driving on the highway is pulled over by what first appears to be a cop, but quickly turns into a nightmare.
WHY WE KEEP EXPLODING
What a great metaphor. The freshman girls of Sutton college keep exploding when taunted by the upperclassman boys.
CW: Bullying & abuse
WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO REACH YOU
An individual with a family history of schizophrenia runs away from the incessant sound of a ringing phone.
CW: Suicide & ableism
LOST IN REINCARNATION
A man is told by his masseuse that he has skipped a life.
BECAUSE MY MOTHER TELLS ME SO
A woman is plagued by a religious zombie that won't leave her porch.
SEAFLOWERS
1 & 1/2 pages long. Reasons why you should never trust a drowned woman.
FENCING CHESTPLATE
A trans teenager turns to the demonic to make it on the fencing team.
CW: Transphobia & homophobia
GENDER ENVY
A gory poem about wanting to be a man.
REST, MY HEAD
I'm not sure how to summarize this one. It seems like the individual might be confined and questioning their existence.
THE DIVINE CARCASS
My favorite first line out of all the stories, "When God died, we first thought it was from lack of faith." Living on a Cathedral in space that's as big as a city, an individual goes through a transformation after following their friend to a religious ceremony.
CHIRONOPLASTY
A centaur seeks alien help to feel like their authentic self.
#MOTHERMAYHEM
I could easily read a novel based on this story. Takes place in a universe where it's normal for one of your hands to just be a skeleton.
THE LIVES OF SCAVENGERS
A widow takes in a grave-child with an insatiable hunger.
THE SIMULACRUM
Essentially a retelling of Frankenstein, which is even acknowledged in the story.
CW: Transphobia
THE ROOTS THEY PULL
Separated by a hedge between their properties, two women meet at sunset where the wisteria grows.
CW: Homophobia & sexual assualt
STENCH
Uhhhh, a pregnant woman cheats on her husband with her priest, and crazy shit ensues. Not sure how else to summarize this one !
THE PEARL DIVER
A dying deer asks the buzzard who is about to eat him to tell him a story.
CW: Animal death
TINY MAGIC
A child uses cleaning chemicals to take care of those that have wronged them, or others.
CW: Domestic abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, & cannibalism
This could have done with more proofreading, as there are some very blatant mistakes that definitely should have been caught. There are at least several instances of repeating words, such as "throat sore throat", or even entire repeated sentences. (It is obvious that these are not intentional) There are also some typos, such as "don't't".
As someone who is not generally a fan of body horror, I went into this book feeling nervous that it might be too much for me. That was not the case at all, and there are actually very few stories in here that made me feel squeamish. Not every story deals with body horror, and only a handful take it to the extreme. So if you feel nervous like I did, I'd definitely give it a try, as I honestly think the first half of this book are some of the best short stories I've ever read.
I'm going to list each story in this collection, give a one sentence summary, and also list any content warnings that the book listed. The content warnings for this are listed on the very last page, so I figure it'd probably be good to include them in my review. It does also say, "some degree of violence, gore, sex and/or death is present in most of these stories," so the content warnings are in addition to that.
THE FLENSING LENS
An apparatus with blades is inserted into a man's eye, travels down his body, and exits out his anus. Just a two page story. I have no idea how to feel about that.
TONSILSTONESPUNKSPLATTER666!
Someone with what seems to be DID is targeted by a hate group. You might not understand a few paragraphs if you aren't familiar with internet culture.
CW: Violent transmisogyny, partner emotional abuse, ableism, rape
HIGH MAINTENANCE
Heartbreaking story. You can see what's going on immediately. A man continually "upgrades" his Android lover.
CW: Domestic abuse
THE INFINITE BEING
A couple who does heists together in a world of magic make the mistake of accepting a job to steal a Sorcerer's ring.
BROTHER MATERNITAS
A monk, who was transformed into a woman by a demon, hides their pregnancy.
CW: Sexual assault, miscarriage
THE SAME THING THAT HAPPENED TO SAM
Tiny man made creatures called worms, are placed in the brain to "correct" your sexuality. Very short, but hard hitting.
CW: Child abuse
BALLAD OF THE PEST
A person discovers mice in their apartment, but the traps aren't catching anything.
PLAYING HOUSE
A housewife isn't exactly happy with how her life has turned out.
CW: Domestic Abuse
HYBRID
Human-animal hybrids are created by the government for the elimination of targets.
CW: Animal Death
CHOLESTEROL-MONOXIDE
A guy driving on the highway is pulled over by what first appears to be a cop, but quickly turns into a nightmare.
WHY WE KEEP EXPLODING
What a great metaphor. The freshman girls of Sutton college keep exploding when taunted by the upperclassman boys.
CW: Bullying & abuse
WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO REACH YOU
An individual with a family history of schizophrenia runs away from the incessant sound of a ringing phone.
CW: Suicide & ableism
LOST IN REINCARNATION
A man is told by his masseuse that he has skipped a life.
BECAUSE MY MOTHER TELLS ME SO
A woman is plagued by a religious zombie that won't leave her porch.
SEAFLOWERS
1 & 1/2 pages long. Reasons why you should never trust a drowned woman.
FENCING CHESTPLATE
A trans teenager turns to the demonic to make it on the fencing team.
CW: Transphobia & homophobia
GENDER ENVY
A gory poem about wanting to be a man.
REST, MY HEAD
I'm not sure how to summarize this one. It seems like the individual might be confined and questioning their existence.
THE DIVINE CARCASS
My favorite first line out of all the stories, "When God died, we first thought it was from lack of faith." Living on a Cathedral in space that's as big as a city, an individual goes through a transformation after following their friend to a religious ceremony.
CHIRONOPLASTY
A centaur seeks alien help to feel like their authentic self.
#MOTHERMAYHEM
I could easily read a novel based on this story. Takes place in a universe where it's normal for one of your hands to just be a skeleton.
THE LIVES OF SCAVENGERS
A widow takes in a grave-child with an insatiable hunger.
THE SIMULACRUM
Essentially a retelling of Frankenstein, which is even acknowledged in the story.
CW: Transphobia
THE ROOTS THEY PULL
Separated by a hedge between their properties, two women meet at sunset where the wisteria grows.
CW: Homophobia & sexual assualt
STENCH
Uhhhh, a pregnant woman cheats on her husband with her priest, and crazy shit ensues. Not sure how else to summarize this one !
THE PEARL DIVER
A dying deer asks the buzzard who is about to eat him to tell him a story.
CW: Animal death
TINY MAGIC
A child uses cleaning chemicals to take care of those that have wronged them, or others.
CW: Domestic abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, & cannibalism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Deadnaming, Pedophilia, and Vomit
Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism