Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Ice by Anna Kavan

9 reviews

ashgalwoah's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-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

4.5

I enjoyed Ice, it is a surreal commentary on war, abuse, narratives/perspectives, politics, and environmental disaster. The writing style is dream like, hallucinogenic, and intoxicating. The world is definitely influenced by Vietnam War/WW2, yet in a futuristic dystopian ice hell scape.

My favorite part about Ice was it’s morally ambiguous narrator, it was engaging to grapple with his character, weather he is evil or good, abuser or savior. 

A good read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

jackmedia's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Stalking and Domestic abuse

crowlandrew's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

I feel like I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time. This is a deep dive into a damaged psyche, a dissociated fever dream with a brutal, brittle, frozen heart. Maybe one of the most emotionally challenging texts I've ever read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Violence, and Bullying

Minor: Eating disorder, Chronic illness, and Confinement

johnclough's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

A hallucinogenic blizzard of a novel replete with wonderful turns of phrase. Easier to get into when you let go of any hope of coherent narrative. Kavan called Ice a fable and it is certainly packed with allegory. Plenty of this is obvious Cold War reference but there remains much that feels more esoteric. Having a psychotic, psychopathic narrator is challenging at times, and I'm not sure I found much satisfaction in the ending, but certainly a vivid and unique read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Blood, Domestic abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol and Mass/school shootings

sunn_bleach's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

If the word “surreal” implies dreamlike, then this is nightmarelike. This is like stress dreams turned to print, and with obsession and paranoia seeping in the next morning from being continuously woken up by those dreams.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Stalking, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death

books_and_keys's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Domestic abuse

miinabiina's review

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Rape

leduyhxxng's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

my feelings of this novel are irrelevant for the time being. i need to read a bit more and deeper into literature of this kind, and then give it a reread before im confident ive arrived at something even remotely thoughtful. so far, this book has wrecked my narrow definition of literature and reality and my life goals and probably more that, as a noob, id failed to recognise. i thought im a plot hoe (lol see what i did there), but this plotless showpiece has truly finished me (to think that i finished it would be a wild accusation, who even am i?!). so theres that.

a few notes for further venture into this reality-bending literature genre: slipstream (non-genre)

Science fiction writers whose work qualified as slipstream include J. G. Ballard, John Sladek, Thomas M. Disch, some of Philip K. Dick. Other writers, who were outside the science fiction genre but whose work could conceivably fit into the wider definition allowed by slipstream include Angela Carter, Paul Auster, Haruki Murakami, Jorge Luis Borges, and William S. Burroughs. Another notable inclusion was, of course, Anna Kavan.

In literature, since slipstream stands above genres of fiction, many examples of magical realism can certainly be recognised as slipstream, one notable mention being Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. Some television drama would qualify: The Singing Detective by Dennis Potter, and a BBC series called Life on Mars. In cinema, recent slipstream films include Christopher Nolan's Memento, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's Impacto and Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich.

— Compiled from Christopher Priest's introduction to Anna Kavan's novel Ice

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Confinement, Bullying, Body horror, and Blood

Moderate: War, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder

Minor: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Police brutality

blandsberry's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I struggled to see why this is a classic and must read in some people's eyes. It wasn't for me, and we're it not so short, would have been a tough slog...

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse