Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Изысканный труп by Поппи Брайт, Poppy Z. Brite

9 reviews

agravereader's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

This book is SO fucked up. So, so, so fucked up. 

I loved it. Not sure what that means for me.

It was character-driven in a way I absolutely cannot resist. Four points of view from four (arguably three) terribly flawed and deranged men in their own ways, but with such love amd obsession interwoven that I felt... something? Toward them. Additionally, the AIDS commentary, specifically how the disease and the tragedy of the people who contracted HIV were treated by society was not what I was expecting from this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Body horror, Blood, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Racial slurs, Incest, Homophobia, Rape, Murder, Kidnapping, Drug use, Vomit, Terminal illness, Racism, Grief, Gore, Drug abuse, Death, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Alcohol, Violence, and Torture

venpyre's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

It feels odd to say, but at its loamy, rotting, blackened core, Exquisite Corpse is a love story. 

It was like…. if you were to take a metal detector to a polluted swamp. You’d have to drudge through the gunk and bear the claustrophobic humidity at the chance of finding even a bit of treasure. But somehow that makes what you <i>do</i> find all the more valuable? Not that anyone would advise you to go metal detecting in a swamp but I digress. 

I feel like this book has aged particularly well in time for our era. In a post-NBC-Hannibal world we can more openly study depictions of love and lust in literature that splinter into death, obsession, and the need to consume/meld into one.

Brite’s ability to conjure these characters, the vilest people you could never dream up in your worst nightmares, is nothing short of astounding. Without comparing the texts too heavily (as I believe they exist for starkly different reasons) Andrew’s inner monologue reminded me somewhat of the eloquent but absolutely atrocious musings of Nabokov’s infamous protagonist, Humbert Humbert. The gleam of poetry and intelligence in the prose is enough to propel you forward despite the horrors you have to endure on page. 

I wish the book was comprised mostly of Andrew’s perspective rather than switching between his and a summary of Jay. I did, however, appreciate Tran’s chapters, as it humanized him and made him much more than just an object/victim. 

That being said, I’m not sure how to parse the descriptions of Asian men in this novel. While not excusing the racist remarks of the book’s characters, I did have to remind myself it was written in the 90s, and depicts the time period faithfully. The way Tran is described is undoubtedly fetishistic. That may be the point. EC treads a fine line that unfortunately holds it back from landing its otherwise graceful pirouette.

Not sure if I knew EC was splatterpunk before diving in, but I’m glad I waited until I was a little older and more versed in horror before reading it. Trigger warning for about everything imaginable and then some. Your mileage may vary to the extreme. If you feel like you can find beauty in near senseless chaos, and have the stomach for its graphic descriptions, you might enjoy Exquisite Corpse.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Torture, Homophobia, Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Body horror, Blood, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Self harm, Confinement, Medical content, Excrement, and Outing

Minor: Vomit, Eating disorder, and Police brutality

quietlex's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I have no complaints. As twisted as it is, I was cheering inside when Andrew and Jay finally found each other. To be able to know another so deeply at their core, and have your fleeting time together ripped away so soon. This is a beautifully written dark horror, eloquent and right to the point. The ending feels a bit rushed and sad, such is death. Very fitting. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Police brutality, Rape, Drug use, Pedophilia, Racism, Suicide, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Dementia, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Classism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Incest, Kidnapping, Abortion, Addiction, Self harm, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Death, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Cannibalism, and Cursing

niccolowilliam's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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? Yes

2.0

It started out horrible then got slightly better towards the end. Dont get me wrong i love disturbing and grotesque things. It honestly wasnt the way they talked about cannibalism and necrophillia it was the weird was they talked about asians and the fact that its clearly Jeffery dahmer 'inspired' (im using the nicer word) which made me really uncomfortable. His victims were real people and the author is definitely not in the demographic that dahmer went after to say the least so ot just feels tone deaf. Every gay charecter is a negative stereotype and

jay and andrew dont even meet until near the end of the story but the summary makes it seem like the main point of the book will be them together not just the mediocre conclusion

Even the sexual and gory stuff (so every other page) felt more for the sake of being shocking and disturbing than weaving an actual plot sometimes. I gave it two stars because there are definitely some moments i liked but i dont even have the energy to write every single issue i had with this story down

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Body horror, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Xenophobia, Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Medical content, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Gore, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Outing, Stalking, Slavery, Incest, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Police brutality

books_onthe_ground's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense fast-paced

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

4.0

See, this is the kind of book that you can’t just say “I loved it!” because you will get concerning looks but I did, in fact, love this book. I enjoyed reading it immensely! Which is strange to say because of the absolute horrendous and extremely graphic things that happen in this book, but that’s the point!! It’s supposed to be one of the most uncomfortable and graphic things you’ve ever read and it boy does it succeed in that!! This is probably the most graphic thing I’ve ever read and it FASCINATED me. As a horror reader and writer it was so interesting to see how much Billy was able to put in the book and it’s definitely going to be a book that stays in my head throughout my career. It’s not a book I would recommend for everyone because of the extreme content warns however I will absolutely be yelling about this book for YEARS to come. I’m so so so happy I finally read it and I can’t wait to read more of Billy’s work!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Cursing, Excrement, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Torture, Vomit, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racial slurs, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

chersonese's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

4.75

At time of writing this review I still need to finish Poppy's other work but after reading Exquisite Corpse I doubt anything else will have the same impact on me. 

It's brutal, realistically so, certainly not for anyone who struggles with graphic and sexual violence, but it works within the confines of the story. I'd already made peace with Tran not making it out alive as soon as he stumbled into Jay and Andrews grasp, but I didn't think I'd feel the sense of loss I did when reading the passage leading to his demise.

 
  This book is beautifully grotesque and will stick with anyone who reads it, for better or for worse.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Rape, Death, Gore, Blood, Physical abuse, Murder, Drug use, Sexual violence, Torture, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Homophobia, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Excrement, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Incest

waverlyloyd's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Homophobia, Incest, Addiction, Excrement, Physical abuse, Self harm, Kidnapping, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Body horror, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual harassment, Murder, Pedophilia, Torture, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Violence

thesawyerbean's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

I have never had a book cause such a visceral reaction in me before, it literally made my stomach turn - I had to stop reading it in moving vehicles to settle the nausea.

This was absolutely repugnant to read, and frankly not enjoyable. The characters all sucked in their own ways, some more than others obviously - the discourse on HIV/AIDS was heinous and the grotesque descriptions of carrion and murder were horrifyingly indulgent. The love affair with abuse that all the characters (even the good ones) seemed to foster was gross as well. 

I’m not naïve in expecting this book to be pleasant reading, but it could’ve been done in such a better way. This was just literal torture porn. In addition one of the fundamental plot points is just… unbelievable? Andrew somehow managing to basically die without actually dying, getting the better of actual medical professionals and then coming back to consciousness at the exact right time? Sure. Made the whole book even more ridiculous.

I wouldn’t recommend this even if it was good, but it wasn’t. So what’s the point?

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Classism, Cursing, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Outing, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Gore, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Violence

rosesofthespring's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Outing, Terminal illness, Torture, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Classism, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Child abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, and Incest

Explicit descriptions and discussion of HIV/AIDS in the 80s gay scene. Significant anti-Asian racism. Granted it all comes from characters who are meant to be despicable, but it is still constant.