Reviews with content warning for Gore - Build Your House Around My Body

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith

17 reviews

mobooks_mojoy's review

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5.0

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foxandkit's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

This is one of the most insane books I've ever read, and I mean that as a compliment. Even when I was struggling halfway through the book to follow the links between all the characters, I was having the best time delving into the sheer craziness of what was transpiring. If you love a book where there are many intricate threads to follow and connect, this is definitely a book for you. Be careful in terms of gore/ body horror if that's something that upsets you.

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kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

this was…. hm. 4.5 stars

it was incredibly well-written, if a bit dark for my tastes. the characters were so interesting and zoomed-in; it really felt like living in their heads.

while i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, my head hurts a little trying to keep up with all the threads. the author bit off a lot, chewed it pretty well, but i think the bolus was a bit too much for me to swallow in the end. i can tell a lot of work went into weaving all the threads together, but i think i need to write out a timeline to really feel like i finished this book. part of that is me wanting a neater ending for winnie, but the other part is just that this book throws a lot of competing desires and pains at you all at once

enjoyed reading, and would definitely read more by this author!

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amiegold's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

I was sure I was going to rate this book lower, but in the last 25% of the book, the author expertly weaved all of the missing pieces to tell a story of colonization, the objectification of woman's bodies and revenge. And it's all told in the form of a ghost story.

While I loved the ending, I was restless along the way with the sometimes nauseating and frustrating characters and plot lines. If you enjoy deep symbolism and dark themes, this may be a good book for you.

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sophia_zaytoun_habib's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

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georgiesutton's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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

3.0

I picked this up because I was interested in a story set in Vietnam and I enjoyed the descriptions and setting in Vietnam, and liked the ghost/spirit element but also that the Fortune Teller seemed to be a bit of a scam.

I normally like multiple time lines and characters but this was too much back and forth with too long in between timelines to follow and make the connections. Not having dates, just using time before and after, and the sheer number of characters made this quite confusing. I felt there wasn't enough plot or chronology to carry it and I felt that meant some of the connections didn't pack the punch they should have because I forgot who was who etc.

Most of the characters had no redeeming features although the female experience was centred which was interesting there were so many women I would have liked more of.

Some of the writing was beautiful but also sometimes dragged with several long drawn out descriptions of unpleasant men getting drunk and making women uncomfortable for no real purpose.

I'm also really frustrated that

Winnie never realised that she met the two brothers

.

Overall this was eerie and atmospheric but not enough plot for me with hugely dislikable characters.

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arirose's review

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Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I wasn't a huge fan at first, with all the POVs and timeline jumping, it's just not in my taste. But I was suggested to read up to a point which did finally intrigue me about halfway or after. I couldn't seem to go beyond intrigued no matter how far I was or what happened in the story though. The story itself was interesting and I was invested, which is what kept me going.

But is this really Violet Kupersmith's first novel? Props to the author, for keeping up with everything and managing to keep it all so well connected! I can't help but imagine her plotting this book like that one meme of the It's Always Sunny guy with the yarn and newspapers lol

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