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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
rmbrndt's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Personally I don't think the formatting does anything for this book - the footnotes work well but shifting the text around is unnecessary.
So misogynistic at parts it made me infuriatingly angry which easily secured that I will never read another MZD book ever again.
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Pedophilia, Grief, Animal death, Suicide, Child death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
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
ethanlaz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Vomit, Sexual content, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Violence, Suicide, Medical trauma, Dementia, Cursing, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Gore, Death, Cancer, Body horror, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Infidelity, Medical content, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
ghostams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Alcohol
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Drug use, Death, Murder, Violence, and Physical abuse
Minor: Animal death, War, Sexual assault, and Cancer
hfrancesh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Animal cruelty
becandbooks's review against another edition
From what I read, however, it is easy to understand how some readers become so invested in the story, but also how others struggle to find a story that is for them.
This is perfect for anyone who is chasing something like The Black Tapes podcast.
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Murder, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Drug use, Alcoholism, Vomit, Alcohol, and Gun violence
→ trigger warnings: drug and alcohol use, alcoholism recounted, graphic body horror, murder mentioned (specifically of a sex worker), blood depiction recounted, graphic animal death/cruelty (decapitation) mentioned, gun violence, emesis,jzmnz's review against another edition
Graphic: Mental illness and Murder
bites_of_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
There are many interpretations about this book, ranging from who is narrating, the true meaning of the house, and even the timeline of events.
I don't think I can recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun book to read, but if you're into deep dives into linguistics, philosophy, poetry, physics, with two side stories that tell the stories of deeply troubled characters.
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Suicide, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Blood, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Sexual violence, Rape, Chronic illness, Confinement, and Death