Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez

19 reviews

tahsintries's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Body horror

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Misogyny, and Rape

Minor: Transphobia

margztgz's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm so stunned by this book I don't even know where to start. This is definitely one of the best short story collections I've ever read; every story was good. Every word uttered and story included was necessary and spellbinding. Mariana Enriquez knows how to capture the gothic and grotesque, and mixes it with scenes of Buenos Aires and the underbelly of society and suffering in a really interesting way. I became attached quickly to all of the characters, and intrigued yet horrified by many of the scenes. Definitely one of my favorite reads this year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug use, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, and Alcohol

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Suicide, and Violence

bookicornia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Self harm, and Mental illness

Moderate: Animal death and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Excrement

thebooksanctuary's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Animal cruelty, and Police brutality

Minor: Excrement

allyah's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

burnyayhayley's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

This collection is truly impressive. There are some seriously disturbing images and each story achieves a strong sense of unease by the end, sometimes in ways, I did not expect to actually find uneasy. 

The author has a very in-depth grip on characterization and is consistently excellent at giving us the correct amount of information so that all the characters feel real and important and tangible, but when you are finished you still feel slightly robbed of closure, which in the context of horror short fiction, is perfect. 

However, I knocked off a star because I am not feeling so impressed by the writing or the content that I am overwhelmed—I just feel a normal amount of impressed, if that makes sense. It's excellent short fiction, but it did not always hit me where I hoped it would. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Trafficking

moraofthestory's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Self harm, Rape, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Death, Murder, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Trafficking, Transphobia, Stalking, and Eating disorder

Minor: Excrement

perditorian's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Addiction, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Self harm

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, and Police brutality

Minor: Excrement and Suicide

internationalreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Abortion, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Vomit