Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey

9 reviews

abicolee's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Violence, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, Excrement, and Rape

sillyduckie's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Blood, Classism, Gun violence, Racism, Body horror, Colonisation, Violence, Xenophobia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Ableism, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, and Racial slurs

erebus53's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

 When American tourists haul in a mermaid off the shore of a small Caribbean Island, a local fisherman does his best to save her, only to find that she reverts to being a woman. She is deeply ancient and cursed, and her presence on the island shakes up tensions between the locals. Thematically this explores gender roles, the Deaf community, and the history of colonisation and slavery in the Caribbean. The author is born in Trinidad.

There are some ominous and creepy bits in this book, which meant it fit in well sandwiched between some of my other October reads. It definitely has some supernatural themes.. (duh, mermaid..?!) I think it's well worth checking out the Audiobook version, if only because it catches the accent of the place. Content is a bit violent and bloody, and occasionally sexual in nature, so probably for older readers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Racism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Body horror, Grief, Bullying, Colonisation, Gore, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Ableism and Sexism

jaynovara's review

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Police brutality, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, and Alcohol

Minor: Kidnapping, Excrement, and Infidelity

lyssylyssy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Classism, Colonisation, and Racial slurs

Minor: Grief, Alcohol, Body horror, and Blood

plantgal_jill's review

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Excrement, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

rebeccajost's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Biphobia, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Confinement and Alcohol

Minor: Genocide, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Slavery, and Infidelity

nialiversuch's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Classism, Colonisation, Grief, Kidnapping, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Racism, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Infidelity, Cursing, Ableism, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Slavery

laumilne's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

This award-winning book is not my cup of tea, but clearly very interesting and literary - the sort of thing I'd expect to study at university, thinking of otherness, relationships, postcoloniality and eco-mythologies. The different "voices" add a great textual detail.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Misogyny, Sexual content, Slavery, and Suicide attempt