Unsettling

I enjoyed this book. I liked that it wasn't to long. was very unsettling to listen to. I found myself cringing and shaking my head at times, but overall this is such a sad story. I'm left feeling a little heavy

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Now I'm craving mince beef

loved it, very enjoyable and disgusting, exactly what I expected when it was recommended for me. however I wasn't quite convinced someone would go to such extremes by the end of the book. Anyways, if disturbed me in just the right way 👍

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1 person found this helpful

Slightly underwhelming but worth the listen

As you read in the blurb, "Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke" is a book describing some version of an online lesbian romance set in the year 2000, wherein everyday communication with friends via email or MSN messenger didn't seem so painfully antiquated as it does today.

The book describes a relationship featuring something of an unequal power balance between parties, with the impression given that one woman is a little younger, and the other something of a slightly older, wealthier professional. What begins as a friendly and polite exchange surrounding the sale of an antique apple peeler, rather quickly turns into a somewhat perverse dom/sub relationship between the two women.

Obviously without spoiling anything, this relationship becomes more intense and perverse as time progresses, and culminates in some bizarre and grotesque moments. I have to admit, it did not go exactly how I expected, and I do enjoy being led astray by my expectations in cases like this. I have to criticise the perceived speed at which this all escalates. The book is read entirely as a set of emails and messenger exchanges, which outline rather explicitly the passage of elapsed time, but due to the shortness of the book, the listener can't help but to feel like it's all happening day-by-day. It's not really meant as a major criticism, but I suppose due to the brief, almost curt length of the story, this can't be helped. Though I understand the purpose they served, the existence of email headers being narrated between almost every exchange did get rather tiresome after a time.

The story did not deliver the level of disturbance or sickening horror that I had hoped to find in my quest to be shocked by a work of fiction, but I am personally hard to impress in this department, and haven't read (or listened to) a book that's done it to me yet. I will warn the prospective listener that it does have parts that someone less desensitised might find nauseating or disturbing.

The audio delivery is good. I really have no complaints about it at all. Laurie Catherine Winkel delivered the performance in a way that was easy to listen to, and easily differentiated the characters by tone without putting any absurd voice acting affect into it.

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Confusing and disturbing

What starts as a cute exchange via email about an antique apple peeler quickly turns into a sadistic dom-sub relationship gone too far

The ideas in this book are unique and interesting yet the dialogue is so unnatural its unnerving

Would recommend if you like dark things

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Wow!

What a crazy journey. I don't know how to feel, and I feel weird for saying this, but, I liked it! Would recommend.

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A gripping journey into madness

What started out so innocently ended up taking us to places I couldn’t have imagined at the beginning.
Excellent writing and didn’t feel exploitative despite the extreme content.

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Fast paced entertaining grossness

I thought the reader gave a great performance and I felt entertained the whole way through. I have even revisited to listen again and I never do that.

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would you still love me if I was a worm?

this was such a wild ride, although it's a shorter listen I urge everyone to take the time to listen in in one sitting. The only negative comment I can make is that having to listen to the email info at the start of every. single. email. was annoying as hell.

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Haunting

I felt genuinely sick reading this, for the first couple of parts it reminded me of something a teenager would write on a fan fiction website but as it neared it’s end it got horrifically disturbing and I can’t imagine I’m going to ever forget it.

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Internet Creepy Pasta

A good 2 hour listen, feels very internet creepy pasta and I wish it had a little more substance.

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