Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

11 reviews

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-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

4.25

This novel is a collection of short vignettes, following interconnected characters through their experiences with dying and death, of the people and animals around them and of the world. 

I’ve been sitting on this review for awhile because I’ve needed to collect myself and my thoughts after this depressing read. Almost grotesque in its depictions of grief, I found myself crying in horror at almost every chapter. This book reminded me a lot of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, but even more bleak and realistic.

Overall, I think this book adds something interesting to the sci-fi genre in its speculations about death industries, and to be able to give impactful characterizations in just one chapter each is impressive. I’d recommend this book to those who like well-written books that will make you feel emotionally intense, and who find medical/sci-fi/space to be intriguing.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Grief, and Classism

yogomagpie's review

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

I loved the first story, but after reading a few more stories I began to feel very fatigued. I grew bored reading so many similar stories over and over again and became desensitized to all the deaths and grieving. But maybe getting desensitized is the point. Anyway, my fav chapter is the one with the pig. It was so messed up and sad.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Cancer, Child death, Death of parent, Medical content, Death, and Body horror

Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, Alcohol, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death

lpdx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Classism, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Suicide, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Abandonment, Colonisation, Excrement, Pregnancy, and Vomit

singrequiem's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

If you want to be  emotionally devastated in just the most beautiful way over and over again - then this is the book for you. Gorgeous.  I may come back and finish this when I am emotionally stable enough to really give it the proper review it deserves.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Pandemic/Epidemic, Child death, Medical trauma, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Chronic illness, Grief, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Addiction, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Blood, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

Minor: Classism and Colonisation

There are graphic descriptions of decomposition and bodily changes in a detached, clinical way. (Alongside less detached scenes)

cakeylu's review against another edition

Finding it really hard to get into this one. An unfortunate case of just being the wrong headspace at the wrong time, which is such a shame because I was really looking forward to it. I borrowed this from the library and it has to go back on Monday so I'm not going to finish it in time because the motivation just isn't there. I may revisit it in the future as it is well written and I do want to follow the over arching story to its conclusion, but I do struggle with short stories (which is what this is, essentially) so I need to come back to it in a better state of mind. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Vomit, Death, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Animal death, and Child death

anni_swanilda's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Suicide, and Animal death

Minor: Cancer and Sexual content

emmonsannae's review

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad 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

3.75

Not sure whether to give this book a 2 or a 5—it’s brilliant and I largely did not enjoy it. The main theme (and the one from which the novel gets its name) is the lengths to which humans are able to stretch to form community and help each other, and the ways all living things are interrelated over time and space. The main subject matter is inherently distressing, though, resulting in a beautiful book that is phenomenally executed and which I hope I never have to read again.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death of parent, Medical content, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Abandonment, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, Blood, Mental illness, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

shoshin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

I cried, I was constantly surprised and unprepared, I thought and felt deeply. A trip and a half. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Medical content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Abandonment, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Violence, Dementia, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and War

If you like to be warned about disturbing content:

There is euthanasia of children in large numbers. There is also a sentient pig who chooses to die rather than suffer a painful death or be studied by the government. These are both pretty graphic descriptions, and aren't really captured by the content warnings. It's an intense book.

kryskross's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Vomit

jasminrain's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

I really enjoyed this book! I knew it was dystopian but I was definitely not prepared for the scifi elements that unfolded throughout the story and I absolutely loved it! I also loved how subtly all the stories were connected to one another and going back and forth between the stories trying to connect the stories of different people. As you might expect, not all the stories were equally strong and I'd probably overall rank them from 3-5 stars, but the overall quality of them was overwhelmingly high and I really enjoyed the story that they told about humanity all together. It's definitely a book that you need to reread to make most out of it and I know that I'll return to it someday.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Medical content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit