Should Books Have Content Warnings?

Earlier this year I was reading a book I’d been excited for. I did my usual research, scanned some ratings, read some reviews..  maybe I’d first heard about it on a blog somewhere.

These are the top review quotes for the book:

sorryreview

The Times said it was ‘for strong stomachs’

Joanne Harris says it’s ‘very dark’.

HELLLOOO UNDERSTATEMENT!

I’ve read countless books described similarly, if not word for word. Very occasionally I will put a book down through boredom, THIS was the first book I put down in disgust.
Continue reading “Should Books Have Content Warnings?”

Novella Notes- White- Tim Lebbon

Short, Sharp, Scary!

white

Page Count 62/ POV First person

 Publication date March 2014/ Publisher Dreaming In Fire

Price £2.08/Free with K-U  Purchased From: Amazon Kindle (30/05/18)

Continue reading “Novella Notes- White- Tim Lebbon”

Mini Review; American Psycho- Bret Easton Ellis

It’s all too easy to see why this was a banned book.

 

Page Count 399/ POV First person

 Publication date March 1991/ Publisher Vintage Books

Price £1.19/  Purchased From: Amazon Kindle (28/07/17)

“Patrick Bateman is twenty-six and works on Wall Street; he is handsome, sophisticated, charming and intelligent. He is also a psychopath. Taking us to a head-on collision with America’s greatest dream – and its worst nightmare – American Psycho is a bleak, bitter, black comedy about a world we all recognize but do not wish to confront.

American Psycho is one of the most controversial and talked-about novels of all time – a multi-million copy bestseller hailed as a modern classic.”

Or in my own words, monotonous and irritatingly materialistic. I get that’s the point, there needs to be emphasis on how stinking rich the characters are, but when I’m still reading entire paragraphs describing the outfit each person in the scene is wearing 30% into a book I’m going to get bored.

I’m not a materialistic or designer worshipping type of girl myself. I knew before entering into this that there would be constant reference to money and condescension towards those less fortunate but I hadn’t realised the bulk of the book would consist of it.

Yes there is murder, there is violence. You will find exactly what you expected to, eventually.

I have to admit this is the first book that reduced me to skim reading. I didn’t find the ten plus pages outlining discographies of Whitney Houston or Genesis added to the narrative. I didn’t enjoy reading repetitive chapters full of Wall Street ‘gentlemen’ arguing about where or what to eat., though I will concede that having to do so made the violent and sexual scenes more jarring.

It is well written, the unease and discord I felt whilst reading it was, I assume, exactly what Ellis had intended.

If you are looking for some intense gore, animal abuse and lewd erotica then by all means, have at American Psycho. It is easy to see why this was a banned book.

If you prefer your stories to have a plot, or even just a beginning and an ending I don’t recommend it.

Roxanne’s Reactions…

 

%d bloggers like this: