Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

18 reviews

ellenisntcool's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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

2.0

 I believe that this book was really good, truly. However, I think we could have taken out Ansel’s chapters and bring even more focus onto the women as I feel they weren’t given a chance to speak as Ansel would slip in with his weird stuff about his theory that I really don’t care about as I don’t care for that man and never will.

I’m struggling to know how to rate this, so I’ll come back later but or right now I’m on the fence about giving it anything higher than a three as the ending felt off especially with one of the women spoken about almost forgiving him, and we don’t get to see why. 

(As I’m writing I’ll probably give it that three anyway.)

Edit: dropping my rating to two stars, the more I think and talk about this book the more I dislike it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Gore

Minor: Pregnancy and Grief

vanessa_black_03's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-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

5.0

This book will make you think and think. It should be read by everybody who has ever thought about the person behind the unmistakable cloud of death by a killer. 
Shows us how circumstances lend to our making but justifying anything you do with it and not acknoledging a problem within you is all that makes the difference

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Child abuse, Gore, Suicide, Medical content, Murder, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Blood and Stalking

Minor: Car accident

savreads28's review

dark emotional informative 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Confinement, Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Death, Sexual violence, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Mental illness, Rape, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

juliesleseecke's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Blood, Sexual content, Misogyny, Gore, Animal cruelty, Death, Grief, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Vomit, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment

haileyeh's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Confinement, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death, Murder, Stalking, Violence, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Animal cruelty, Medical trauma, and Grief

Moderate: Medical content, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Car accident, Child death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

Minor: Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Vomit, Alcoholism, Islamophobia, and Alcohol

butle2em's review

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Murder, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Abandonment, Animal death, Gore, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Vomit

sunshine_sophia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

It has taken some time to compile my thoughts on this book, and I am not entirely sure if I will be able to articulate them well enough in this review.

This book made me very emotional. It was a rollercoaster of emotion. From anger to sadness to heartbreak, and grief, this book touches on many emotions. As an emotional girlie myself, I felt them all to a large degree.

I am not an advocate for the death penalty. My thoughts are: if we as a society believe murder and homicide are bad, why do we punish someone who committed those crimes with the same fate as their victims? It has always felt backward and inhumane to me. I felt torn between wanting Ansel to die via lethal injection or staying in prison for the rest of his life. I was especially sympathetic when

Saffy confronted him after he killed Jenny. When she asked him why he took the trinkets from the girls he killed, and he responded, "to keep me safe" my heart SHATTERED. That what is mother told him with the locket she had given him as a boy.

I am not trying to glorify serial killers by feeling sympathy towards him in this moment, I am simply reflecting on the trauma that he experienced as a child, and how he carried that with him through his entire life.

It was also interesting seeing the juxtaposition of Saffy and Ansel - they both had traumatic childhoods, grew up in the foster system, and lived in the same foster home for some time. While Saffy still carried her trauma with her, she was able to mobilize and become a functioning member of society as a member of law enforcement.

This was a heartbreaking, raw, and brilliant story of trauma, and showcases the flaws within the criminal justice system.

As someone who got psychology and criminology degrees in college, I am fascinated by the why. Why do people do what they do? Why do people commit crimes? Why do people kill? This book taught me that there may not always be a why, sometimes things just are because of a plethora of decisions, biology, and countless other factors. There is no cut-and-dry reason why people do what they do. There are countless possibilities and reasons for everything. 

Overall, while this book made me emotional, it was a brilliant dive into the way we view serial killers, the families impacted, the criminal justice system, law enforcement, and so much more. This book made me think and reconsider, which as a Gemini, I always appreciate. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, and Animal death

Moderate: Gore and Blood

rebeccadiv's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

This book is heartwrenching and hard to look at sometimes, but important nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Child death, Murder, Stalking, Animal cruelty, Grief, Mental illness, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Violence, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

autumnwhite's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Child death, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Death, Confinement, Addiction, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Gore, Gaslighting, Torture, Sexual content, Grief, Kidnapping, and Emotional abuse

toofondofbooks_'s review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

This book was an absolute stunner. The writing was beautiful and the structure of the storytelling was just *so* the right way to do it that I felt spoiled with every page. Every character felt extremely real to me both in good and bad ways. This book asked so many questions and challenged me with every new piece of information. I loved the focus on the women affected by the main character's actions in this story as opposed to just the pov of the perpetrator and the themes that surrounded them. This was the most solid read that I've read in a long time. Absolutely brilliant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexual content, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Grief, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Stalking