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alexitaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Racial slurs
jesterjaster's review against another edition
Graphic: Excrement
Moderate: Racial slurs
sunny27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Moderate: Racial slurs
musical_alex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Excrement, Mental illness, Death, Racial slurs, Blood, Gore, Body horror, and Vomit
Moderate: Sexual content
imrereads'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? No
2.5
Samtidig er det store delar av romanen som står som uforståelege for meg. Det var rarare og rarare jo lengre me kom, utan at eg klarte å forstå kva det var som vart forsøkt sagt. Kanskje er det ikkje riktig av meg å leite etter meining, kanskje er det det meininglause som er meininga. Likevel falt ikkje det heilt i smak for meg. Dei store mengdane avføring, mensblod og groteske seksuelle bileta falt heller ikkje i smak hos meg. Det er òg uforståeleg for meg kvifor det var nødvendig å nytte rasistiske ord, som n-ordet.
Alt i alt føles dette litt uferdig. Den sterke stemma eg las i Perlebryggeriet var vanskeleg å finne her, sjølv om den dukka opp i blant.
Graphic: Cannibalism, Racial slurs, Blood, Excrement, Gore, and Body horror
livsliterarynook'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Racial slurs
nensreads's review against another edition
Graphic: Racial slurs
sunday_evening's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Minor: Racial slurs and Violence
librarymouse'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I could read this novel a dozen more times and still have trouble categorizing it. It is angsty, lyrical, and shows the process of decontaminating oneself of the harshly imposed shame Christianity often ascribed to difference while avoiding the pitfalls of textual shame - the avoidance or curation of language. Hval writes this novel viscerally, with bodies, their parts, their fluids, and the conceptualization and actualization of sins being given true names and tangible descriptors. The struggle between the individual and externally oppressive religion is relatably detailed, and through that lens, this novel has the same impact when consumed as stained glass church windows divorced from their context.
So many readers who came of age on the internet were first introduced to the concept of a queer tenderness or queerness treated like literary fiction rather than something inherently pornographic, through the realm of fanfiction or short stories written to Tumblr prompts, as was very common in the 2010s. Rather than pulling me out of the story, despite how tenuous my grasp on the continuity of this book was, the narrator intermittently addressing the reader directly as "you" harkens back to that very specific reader insert fanfiction feeling, and the love expressed by the narrator for the reader creates that gorgeous, fluid, and velvety sense of adoration. This is an effect that I remember keenly feeling and craving at the young age of the girl in the puberty portrait that is so often brought up in this novel. I don't know that I can claim this specific tone to be authorial intent, but the mood created for the reader by the form and language of this book, with specific focus on the intersection between naturalism and internet subcultures, intertwines beautifully with the content.
I really don't know if I can recommend this novel to others. It is a lot, but it is also gorgeous.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Excrement, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Cursing, Body horror, Abortion, Animal death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Sexual content
Moderate: Xenophobia, War, and Bullying
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Antisemitism