Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot

23 reviews

emilyhcox's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

wholesomeandqueer's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Self harm, and Alcoholism

clarabooksit's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Alcohol, Colonisation, Grief, and Alcoholism

ashleycmms's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Suicide

seeceeread's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

💭 "Séliš stories are a lot like its art: sparse and interested in blank space; the work must be striking."

This is a torrent. Relentless, stream-of-conscious nonsequiturs circle back to each other. The book is a menacing bath of tales:

assault and need and love and violence and therapy and mothering and child separation and tenderness and despair and and and

. Mailhot seems to want to purge the hurt, to exorcise her uncertainty by naming: she has felt, craved, demanded, retreated. 

I winced to witness, to relive so intimately all that has sliced her.

The author nicks as she tells us of the small ladder she carved into her arm while pregnant.

Like her girlhood self, we are coaxed and cornered into small spaces with the grotesque, wondering if it's safe to speak, to look away. I wanted to hold her at times, a quiet listener as an irregular heartbeat sang of heartache. At others, I wanted to run away, to commit violence against her selfish lover and to snap her into nonchalance. These whiplashes of emotion and intention mirror hers, further evidence she submerged me.

💭 "The tips of your fingers felt like wet grapes. I wanted to bite every one."

Expect to be nipped.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Violence, Abandonment, Classism, Colonisation, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide, and Child abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Classism

alipp's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Quick and reflective read. So keen to read more by Therese. Honest, raw and relatable

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

the_fbc_paris's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Self harm

mlewis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Vomit, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Death of parent

Minor: Colonisation and Sexual content

corriejn's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

This book is very well-written and the author has a very clear voice that comes through in the writing. It's hard to reflect much on the content without spoilers, but I'll just say, see content warnings before taking this one on. Not a light read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence

Minor: Abortion

bjdarby's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, and Self harm

Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, and Eating disorder