Cows

Cool and wholesome book for the whole family!! Would very much recommend :)

This was a departure for me. Now, I have read extreme horror in the past and I did enjoy some of it. The biggest draw for me is how absurd a book can be, and yet somehow also profound. Those that read books like this one straight aren't in on the joke. Now with that said, this book did...something I guess? It did not end how I expected, and it did keep me reading to see what would happen next. Stephen and his tumultuous relationship with his mother was effective in that it was upsetting. I get the message the book is putting out, and it is a good one. Getting past all of the “worse” parts, it does have an odd beauty to it. This really was a book I did not think I would enjoy. Yes, it is vile and yes it is absolutely the most unique in the sense of the violence and torture scenes that I have read. There is a fair amount of coprophagia in it, so trigger warning to those that cannot handle such activities. The writer here does a good job of ramping up, then we get to the surreal parts and then we kind of shift tone to a power struggle which was a fantastic contrast between Steven and his mother earlier, where she is the head honcho, and then he has to do the same with the Guernsey that seemed to be leading said cows. All in all, this was fine actually. Baby in a Blender is still the best and worst thing I've read so far in this genre though. Matthew, I just want to say you have infringed on my rights as a human and thank you. <3

content warnings: animal cruelty, animal death, blood, body horror, cannibalism, child abuse, child death, death, death of parent, emotional abuse, excrement, gore, islamophobia, mental illness, misogyny, murder, physical abuse, pregnancy, racial slurs, rape, sexism, sexual assault, sexual violence, torture

i'm not even kidding, this and dead inside have the exact same problem of being so formulaic where every chapter is the repeat of the previous one with like. a sentence of a difference. extreme horror is great but only when done with an iota of something that isn't just ~oooo disgusting description that will make the reader gag~. it sure will!! but what's the point if that's all there is? WHY did so many influencers recommend this lmao

Vividly, almost comically revolting, but I know that's the point. There are intriguing layers of metaphor here if you care to rummage through the gore and excreta for them, and it's gripping in a can't-look-away way, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone in good conscience!

Please don't read this. It's extremely graphic and disgusting just to be so nor in a way that gives insight to a sad situation. It felt like someone trying to make up a situation of abuse and glorifying it with no clue how.

this is a strange book to discuss. i understand what the book was going for in its message, and i do think it was successful in some aspects, however the overwhelming gratuitous grossness made it so hard to remember the message of the books. i decided on a four because this is certainly one of the most memorable books i've ever read, and it illicited such a strong reaction from me, but i do think it was over the top to a detriment at some point. i mean i can only read about human shit consumption so many times.

Meh