Reviews

Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite

mayarosa's review against another edition

5.0

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book, I will never forget it. I went into this novel expecting pure horror but I was so enthralled by the plot, the characters, the historical background, the romance and eroticism! This was the perfect niche blend of gore and lgtbqa romance.

hijinxed's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

3.5

disgusting. amazing. never reading again!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Sexual violence, Murder, and Medical content

burtnath's review against another edition

2.5

Well-written but tedious.

readingwmiles's review against another edition

4.0

3.5? this was so gross but i had a good time i guess? would probably not recommend this to most people though, it's up there on the list of most disturbing books i've read. crazy gay aids epidemic serial killer romance (?) that i hated but also couldn't put down. blood and gore and sex on every page. it was a lot.

peyviz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.5

This book was crazy from start to finish and kept me hooked the whole time. The details were so graphic and Brite really knows how to put an image in your head. Do not recommend if you have a weak stomach.

animarret2boog's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Suicide, Addiction, and Vomit

Minor: Incest

indiepauli47's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.25

Touki's club book of the month 🙃

Reading a classic in the horror genre, and Io.. it was dark.
I heard many things about this book, but I was not expecting it to be this blunt and descriptive.
No wonder this was banned.

The prose is excellent, although very slow in my opinion; the characters reek of evil and despair, and I got all the East Ellis vibes reading this.
I'm not sure about the ending, but then, how could such a book truly end ?

A classic, yes, but not for everyone.

eris_in_chains's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Thoroughly enjoyed this book though I must say that it's very much a product of its time (cannot tell whether the author intented to fetishize East Asian men here.) An interesting Jeffrey Dahmer fanfic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Terminal illness, Body horror, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Death, and Rape

Moderate: Police brutality, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Physical abuse

reneete's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I love it when artists aren't afraid to cross some boundaries. And that's pretty much the thing I enjoyed most about this. It's nicely written, but unnecessarily wordy in places. It's a twisted character study of sorts, but a bit too edgy and stereotypical for my liking. The social commentary is impactful, but it doesn't mix well with the horror aspect, which in itself is too romanticized. Like well-written AIDS fanfiction with two Jeffrey Dahmers as main characters.

erica_reads_things's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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

4.5

This is one of the "oldest" horror books that I have read on my journey so far and it did not disappoint! I could have gone for even more gore, personally, but I did really enjoy the intense emotional stories of the characters Tran and Luke. The inclusion of the AIDS epidemic and the societal commentary was a pleasant surprise amongst my expectation of a gory horror novel. This was just overall a pretty great, quick read and a must for horror fans. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Body horror, Murder, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Death, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Drug use, Sexual violence, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Incest and Stalking