Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

22 reviews

xin's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm and Suicide

Minor: Incest and Rape

buildingtaste's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• 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

3.75

The Thirteenth Tale is a satisfying gothic send-up, complete with name drops of all the usual 19th-century suspects. However, by placing all the dark twists in the distant past, Setterfield keeps the book from being too tense; like the narrator, readers are encouraged to approach the story-within-a-story as a puzzle, and the "present" action is mostly sedate. Still, with its laundry list of grim events, this one is not for the faint-hearted. Mind the content warnings!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Bullying, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, and Infidelity

Multiple relationships are codependent, violent, controlling and incestuous/bordering on incestuous.

Major characters are revealed to be the likely product of incest and rape.

Multiple violent and disturbing deaths, self-inflicted and by others. Some characters live in isolation and neglect their home; the decay and unsanitary conditions are described in detail. Terminal illness is a major plot point. The death of siblings and grief is a major plot point. A character is institutionalized. A character is confined for a medical/psychological experiment. Multiple characters are shown self-harming as children and adults.

A character attempts to murder an infant.

dragonaion's review

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This isn't my usual genre (fantasy or historical fiction), and when I started the book I was skeptical. However, the storytelling not only kept me reading, but set me down new paths that were completely unexpected and a delight to discover. The story itself is also darker than most, but it was well placed and not excessive; the story is told in such a way I'm certain that someone, somewhere, knows these lives very well.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Self harm, Emotional abuse, and Incest

Minor: Physical abuse, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Rape, and Toxic relationship

This is meant for an adult audience and has a lot of dark themes within one family that is absolutely unhealthy mentally, physically, and emotionally.

jchurt09's review

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Self harm, and Sexual assault

brit7930's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Incest

Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, and Self harm

Minor: Mental illness and Sexual assault

contrapasso's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

1.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Self harm

Moderate: Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Self harm

Minor: Ableism

bre88's review

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

It’s not for everyone and a book I would need to read a couple times to catch everything. You have to power through the first couple of chapters but the book does become immersive and I don’t regret reading it. There’s multiple layers of stories and you feel yourself chasing to keep up like the protagonist.  I can’t say it was the best thing I’ve ever read; however, I can’t stop thinking about the story and characters. It was interesting and challenging and the kind of book you need to discuss with a friend. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Grief, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Death, Mental illness, and Bullying

Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Rape, Incest, and Self harm

Minor: Animal cruelty

meg_elyse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Death, Excrement, Medical content, Bullying, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and Incest

khbenedik's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I generally enjoyed this book - it was beautifully written and narrated by the two narrators in the audiobook, had a suspenseful Gothic feel, and is layered with interact details that build upon the dark family mysteries. That being said, I had issues with some of the plot points and it felt like the last 25% of the book was anticlimactic and wrapped up too quickly after all the build up.  

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Death, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

keeganrb's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Terminal illness, and Incest

Moderate: Murder, Rape, and Child abuse

Minor: Self harm and Mental illness