Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld

23 reviews

meaghanelizabook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Grief, Sexual content, Suicide, Death, Excrement, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Child death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, Vomit, Cursing, Incest, Toxic friendship, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

wrackcity's review

sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, and Incest

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Child death

clarereadstheworld's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Back in Europe this week, reading a book from The Netherlands. I picked this book a while ago as it won the International Booker Prize in 2020, so it got quite a bit of attention at that time.

The story takes place on a dairy farm in a rural area of The Netherlands. As Jas teeters of the brink of puberty, her older brother tragically falls through the ice while ice-skating and dies. As her parents (understandably) fall apart, Jas tries desperately to recalibrate her world to adjust to the loss of her bother, and perhaps more devastatingly the loss of her parents love and attention. She becomes obsessed with death, avoiding death, and refuses to remove the red coats which envelops her in a protective layer.

The narrative is given entirely from Jas's point of view. The reader is pulled in as her confidant as Jas talks through the mundane and horrific things which happen in an equally matter of fact way. There are some very uncomfortable and graphic scenes as, starved for attention from their grieving parents, Jas and her siblings explore their emerging sexualities together. Jas also develops chronic constipation, which she tells the reader about in great detail.

Having grown up in a rural area filled with dairy farms similar to the area described in the book (although in a different country) I definitely felt a strong connection to the characters. There were a lot of elements which remained me of the children I went to school with.

Another element of this book I found interesting was the description of Jas's fear of germs, and getting sick. I suffer from emetophobia, which is a fear of vomiting, and this is the first time I've read a book with a character who has a similar phobia.

Not for the feint hearted, but an interesting read. 

Trigger warnings: death, grief, sexual violence

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Incest, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Death, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

nataliebeech's review

challenging dark 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

2.75

I feel so conflicted by this book because the writing is brilliant, and yet I can’t say I enjoyed it and honestly I’m pretty relieved it’s over. I’m interested in reading books with unusual styles and I think this definitely has that, and Rijneveld writes from a child’s perspective so well, but oh my god is this book bleak. It’s a book that disturbs and challenges and I admire not shying away from how dark childhood and children can actually be, but it does feel like an onslaught of abuse, shit, neglect, body horrors and I’m not sure exactly what to take from it. I also didn’t feel that connected to any of the characters, so the awful things that happened weren’t really emotional for me, just unsettling. It seems maybe like an examination of child neglect and trauma, and it is a tragedy in many ways. If you’re ready for all that then buckle up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Death, Pedophilia, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Child death, and Self harm

Moderate: Blood

simeona's review

dark sad slow-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? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Bullying, Pedophilia, Death, Eating disorder, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide

jmbz38's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Excrement, Grief, Incest, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Emotional abuse

mokuren's review

dark medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

aweinstein's review

challenging dark 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

2.0

definitely well written but the content itself is challenging and disturbing. very dark and difficult to follow at times considering many scenes feel unresolved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Excrement, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

xingev's review

dark sad 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Incest, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse

minxtte's review

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Child death, Excrement, Grief, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Antisemitism, Blood, Eating disorder, and Incest

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Pedophilia, and Vomit