Reviews with content warning for Body horror - The Handyman Method

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Handyman Method by Andrew F. Sullivan, Nick Cutter

22 reviews

orizenda's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

It was fun but I kind of stopped caring like 3/4 of the way through. I’m not sure if it felt too long (even though it isn’t long) or what. It just kind of felt, to me, like a creepypasta. don’t get me wrong, I love that kind of stuff, but it felt like just throwing too many things together just because and then trying to make it make sense but not fully fleshing it out. idk. it’s fun though. I liked the stuff watching Trent change ig. The fingernail scene got me the worst ngl. after that the gore barely bothered me lol

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lulustjames's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

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? Yes

4.0

Having previously read Little Heaven, I decided to pick up The Handyman by Nick Cutter and Andrew F Sullivan to see if he really was a horror author that would become an auto buy for me. Well, needless to say this was a WILD read and I definitely think Cutter is becoming an instaread going forward. This is such a pointed take on so many parts of contemporary culture, from the addiction to online media to gender norms, I worried it would be too preachy to be scary. Boyo was I wrong. Despite knowing where this was going, the ride was still scary and gory.

I would warn about spoilers, but honestly? You kinda understand everything from the very beginning. It doesn’t take long to really catch hold of the different threads. Trent, father and husband, is excited to move his family into a new home. His wife, Rita, is not. His son, Milo, is content to go with the flow. That literally might be the only time we ever see the family content, and even then they aren’t, which honestly? sets the tone really well. Trent slowly tumbles into the trap of societal pressures of masculinity. We see just how innocuous it can start. Catching a DIY youtube video. Then another. Then building that parasocial relationship that so many vloggers depend on for views and sales. Before Trent knows it, he has morphed into a wildly toxic alpha male he cannot even recognize. Meanwhile, Milo is left with a tablet as a babysitter and undergoes his own metamorphosis like his father. Yes, there are other forces at play (because of course there are, it’s a Nick Cutter horror,) but the horror lies in the fact that this could be anyone. This could be you.

While at the start, I thought it would simply be this social commentary presented as horror, I too found myself getting sucked into the story. The writing becomes more unhinged the further along you get. There is animal and body horror and gore that is completely removed from the commentary. Each half further ramps up the discomfort and tension. Where sometimes Trent or Milo start to mellow, the outside world starts to get disturbing. Then the world calms and the internal horror begins. It is such a perfect balance. This delicate balance is what makes the ending so much more horrific and perfect and a perfect commentary on the state of the world in general.

I really enjoyed The Handyman Method by Nick Cutter and Andrew F Sullivan. Yes, the social commentary is heavy but so is the gore and horror imagery. I think everything meshes so well that eventually the knowledge that this is commentary fades to the background and all you can focus on is how everything is so incredibly wrong all the time. If you like horror, are okay with gory animal and body descriptions, I think this is definitely something worth picking up. I did listen to this as an audiobook which I really enjoyed and I think made the experience so much more visceral.

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queersubtext's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

3.75

Honestly was so in love with this ride until

Rita went back to save her soggy white bread husband. It changed the vibe of the book and I went from cheering with every passing page of a sort of inverted Good For Her, to being baffled by why I was apparently supposed to give a shit about him. I already said goodbye, Trent. Jesus. And why was I left knowing literally nothing about Rita and her MANY accomplishments outside the resentful descriptions made by Soggy White Bread Husband? And the more I think about it, the more mad I am, quite frankly. I mean, I have seen Trents in Home Depot as well as so many places other than Home Depot, and it is a fucking riot - we call them "Brads" in my friend circle. And the never ending, absolutely disgusting scene with Ned and the sink?!?! INCREDIBLE OH MY GOD. I was losing it.

Currently, I feel the same way I did after reading IT; I was so involved in that story and then got hit with child group sex out of fucking nowhere and it ruined everything for me (Obviously HM is not on the same level. Some messed up things happen in this book but that is thankfully not one of them). I thought I was going to walk away on cloud 9 and rate this book 5 stars. Ultimately, it's getting 3.75 because I'd like to give it a 3 but jabroni Trent and the Ned exit deserve SO MUCH PRAISE, and since my personal criteria for 4 stars is "would I re-read this" and the answer is no, here we are.

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jordandotcom's review against another edition

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dark

Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

genuinely uhhh holy shit was very disgusted & book was very good

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itskiki's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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dezaraemd's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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? It's complicated

4.5

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tarainez's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

Good example of a really interesting idea, meh execution. It was hard to visualize some of the stuff going on, and other stuff just kind of came across as so dumb it wasn’t scary. Also, turtles. Quirky dialogue as well that came across odd.

Content Warnings