Was the book too gruesome or just gruesome enough?

Discuss the March 2016 Eating Bull by Carrie Rubin.

(Note, Carrie Rubin's previous book The Seneca Scourge was book of the month in December 2012. :) )
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chytach18-
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Re: Was the book too gruesome or just gruesome enough?

Post by chytach18- »

If I watched those scenes on the TV, I would probably skip them, but for this book they are essential for our emotional engagement. I think they were done very skilfully and on balance.

-- 14 Mar 2016, 08:54 --

Now I have reread some of the scenes which I could call "gruesome". The scene that shocked me the most was the opening scene, in which Grandfather was cleaning his guns in front of Jeremy.
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Post by Heidi M Simone »

So, I'm the odd-person out. The scenes were a little too gruesome for me. There were times when my mouth was left open for a while before I noticed it was open. It was very disturbing, so I would much rather prefer something a less gruesome. However, I can see why the author wrote these scenes, and it was intriguing to hear "The Voice" before/during/after these scenes.
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Post by Sarah G »

The gore didn't really bother me. I thin it added t the book as it made Darwin's deed come across more shocking and wrong. The level of detail made it hit harder how driven people can become to go to such lengths.
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Post by P_hernandez »

I didn't find this to be gruesome at all, actually. I've read some vile, awful things lol, so this was light reading in comparison. But I did find that the chapters with Darwin were my favorite. I typically side with the villains and this story was no exception. I was rooting for Darwin till the end lol.
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Post by sarahpayne23 »

I tend to agree with everyone. If Rubin lessened the gruesome in areas, she might have lost the effect of the murder. I think she did a great job finding a happy medium in just the right amount of gruesome.
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Post by ktrum »

Too gruesome; didn't finish reading this book and didn't like it at all!!!
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Post by bluemel4 »

I think the author did a fantastic job making the gore enough to get the point across while keeping the focus on Darwin's mindset and his need for discipline and control. I agree with others that the treadmill scene was horrible, but I felt worse about the punishment Darwin inflicted upon himself when he perceived what he did as a failure. Starvation, mutilation, using clamps on sensitive body parts... all of those were so horrible.
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Post by bookowlie »

bluemel4 wrote:I think the author did a fantastic job making the gore enough to get the point across while keeping the focus on Darwin's mindset and his need for discipline and control. I agree with others that the treadmill scene was horrible, but I felt worse about the punishment Darwin inflicted upon himself when he perceived what he did as a failure. Starvation, mutilation, using clamps on sensitive body parts... all of those were so horrible.
You make a good point about the graphic things Darwin did to himself. I guess I wasn't as grossed out by that because he was a murderer.
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Post by MatthewAlexander »

I think the book was just as gruesome as it should've been. Most of what would be considered gruesome was seen from Darwin's perspective, which I think is the reason it worked for the book instead of being a turnoff. It gave me a better understanding of Darwin's character, and helped me to understand that what was going on in his mind was very gruesome and violent and real. If Rubin had watered these scenes down, Darwin's character would have lacked some of its depth.
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Post by stoppoppingtheP »

I suppose the book needed to be this gruesome in order to capture the whole essence of the story and the murders in it. If it had not been this detailed perhaps it would have turned out bland and the storyline would not be as captivating.

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Post by lmoses »

I think, like a lot of other readers, that I have read a lot worse scenes in books that this was not too gruesome for me. Details were given to make the story, but I did not feel a line was crossed.
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Post by alwaysdaddygirl »

I just read the sample. As an avid horror lover, this book was like G rated. ? I probably should not admit that. I am me.
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Post by lucymn11 »

I didn't find this too gruesome for me, but I also love horror movies. I agree that the gruesomeness was essential for the storyline.
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Post by Vermont Reviews »

tortoise keeper wrote:I have also read much worse. Reading gruesome stories doesn't seem to bother me. Watching the same thing on TV or a movie would probably leave me unable to sleep. Maybe with a book I am able to separate myself from the story more easily when necessary.

Agreed

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Post by Simmons32 »

I thought it was a little too gruesome, but that’s just my opinion. I am not used to reading gory books, so that’s why it probably seemed like a bit too much to me.
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