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Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
29 reviews
esterie's review against another edition
4.25
My favorites (5 stars) of the collection:
Eulogy for a Brother, Resurrected by Carson Faust: My absolute favorite of the collection. Hauntingly beautiful writing, the entire first section before the first pagebreak broke my heart and I was on the verge of tears the entire story. The ending is weird (affectionate) and unclear what's actually happened (affectionate) and I loved it. Beautiful horror.
"I can tell you the price of my brother's body.
Cummings Chapel charged us $885 to burn our brother down to nearly nothing. We paid $79.99 for the dark blue urn we poured him into once the chapel returned him to us in crinkled plastic that reminded me of a cereal bag. Holding all that was left of him in my hands, Callum couldn't have weighed more than a few pounds. As we poured him into the urn, I tried not to spill a single wisp of him. Though he was so much less now, I wanted to make sure he was whole."
Heart-Shaped Clock by Kelli Jo Ford: A real tragedy, something I can envision so easily happening to anyone. One moment, one poor decision or unclear action and everything is different and there's no going back.
"[...] it don't matter where you go. You're just fucking there, and you ain't nobody but who you were before you left."
And though it's from the foreword, this reminds me of that sense of "no going back" that this story made me feel:
"[...] there's more here than we thought, and, now that we've gotten a glimpse of that, there's no going back to the way it was." - Foreword by Stephen Graham Jones
Behind Collin's Eyes by Shane Hawk: What I think of when I think of monster-in-the-woods type of horror and among my favorite horror themes and tropes. Tinged with sadness because Collin was a genuinely sweet kid who just wanted to go hunting with his dad, watch cartoons with his sisters; grateful and appreciative of his family & heritage. And yet......
Before I Go by Norris Black: Slow, soft, haunting grief. A bittersweet ending.
"Daylight had a way of taking the mad thoughts of deep night and placing them in rational context."
Sundays by David Heska Wanbli Weiden: The abuse & horrors of residential schools that follow a man for 50 years. Shocked me, though the ending was a bit abrupt. But it hit hard.
"The past had come for me, unbidden, and stolen whatever comfort I had left in this life."
Snakes Are Born In The Dark by D. H. Trujillo: Gross, funny, absurd. The whole ~thing~ with Adam calling the snake his son, even insisting on bringing it with by shoving it into the pocket of his cargo pants. I was ROLLING laughing at that imagery. And then the snake biting a ranger and it being flung like a goddamn FRISBEE. Funniest story of the lot imo.
Navajo Don't Wear Elk Teeth by Conley Lyons: More of a horror-adjacent thriller about an abusive relationship with an even darker side.
Night Moves by Andrea L. Rogers: Classic feeling werewolf story. Short and concise, doesn't overstay it's welcome or have too wide a scope for its length.
Prepper by Morgan Talty: A look into someone with a delusion-based mental disorder. Uncomfy having known people like this in real life.
Limbs by Waubgeshig Rice: Somewhat of a revenge story against colonizers/settlers.
Collections by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala: Very disturbing examination of the commodification & manipulation, as well as profiting done by white people of BiPOC bodies - especially for their own gain.
Favorite quotes/passages:
"Generally speaking, Indians are pretty nervous about possession narratives, since those are more or less stories about a body being colonized, which we know a thing or two about [...]" - Foreword by Stephen Graham Jones
"There was something outside the house that was clearly murderous and looked just like me. There was something inside me that was clearly murderous and felt nothing like me."
"This was it, how we all ended. Defeated by their brutality, and a world that would choose them and forget about us."
-Kushtuka by Mathilda Zeller
"She knew better than to envision [a new life] any further: the future was a room with a warp in the floor. It was a dangerous thing to think or speak into being, like a too-early pregnancy announcement."
-Night in the Chrysalis by Tiffany Morris
"In my world older folks can say any damn thing tht takes you apart, but a kid has to swallow the truth until you grow up."
-Dead Owls by Mona Susan Power
Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Body horror, Pedophilia, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Child abuse
fawns's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Blood, Cannibalism, Animal death, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Homophobia, Ableism, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Grief, Rape, Cancer, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse
cerasaurusrex'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Abortion, Addiction, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Bullying, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Racism, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, and Violence
melshoo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Stalking, Colonisation, Murder, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
parisfba09's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Pedophilia, Torture, Mental illness, Colonisation, Rape, Violence, and Blood
it's hard to give content warnings for a short story collection. i mean it's a horror collection so all these stories are pretty graphic and bloody - but some go into a lot of detail about sexual assault, pedophilia and torture, there's also a story about a man experiencing what i think is schizophrenic or bipolar delusions that could be triggering.hillcm91's review
3.75
Graphic: Racism, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Grief, Rape, and Homophobia
smokeandwires's review against another edition
- 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? N/A
3.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Racism, and Child abuse
Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Rape, Death, Gore, and Mental illness
eficca33's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Racial slurs, Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Trafficking, Violence, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Torture, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Animal death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
tainolibrary's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Excrement, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Vomit, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia
mikcarrington's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I'd initially expected this to be a lot of folklore/supernatural (the title in particular gave me that impression). While there's definitely some of that in there, it does not take the forefront as I think through the incredible stories in this collection. There's such a great range of extremely disturbing to lighter fare, with concerning endings and righteous ones. Many of these stories will likely stick with me for years to come.
Graphic: Pedophilia, Torture, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault