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ivana's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Violence, Vomit, Drug use, Addiction, Child death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Colonisation, Ableism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cancer, Rape, and Infidelity
yaslanna's review against another edition
- 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
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
eemi42's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
In my opinion, no.
This is the book equivalent of a found-footage film, except the film in question doesn't exist. What we read is the old man Zampanò's essay analyzing this nonexistent film, and Johnny Truant's attempts to piece together the old man's writings. I was drawn to this book because of the horror aspect, though this is more psychological horror than monster or ghost story.
The essay feels pretentious at times, adding to the frustration while reading. Sometimes the book felt gimmicky. And I didn't like Johnny Truant at all (likeable characters are a big deal to me). There were many times where he would meet up with women to discuss the book, only to launch into—ahem—other activities without much preamble. It got repetitive and annoying.
I can respect the obvious amount of work that went into this book. I enjoyed the unconventional formatting and puzzles. It even made me stop and think several times and question my own sanity. But ultimately, if like me you're looking for an enjoyable read with likeable characters, probably just skip it.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Blood, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
haileyhardcover's review
- 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
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
bottleofink's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Animal death, Infidelity, Child abuse, Gore, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Animal cruelty
honest_soupe's review against another edition
- 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
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!!!"literallygriffin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Stalking, Violence, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Child abuse, and Suicide
logain's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Drug use, Alcoholism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Sexual content, Grief, and Infidelity
Minor: Rape
honeyvenom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Cursing, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
monroebays's review against another edition
- 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 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.
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