Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

جزيرة الأشجار المفقودة by Elif Shafak

60 reviews

cassielaj's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I finished this book with tears in my eyes, and that wasn’t the first time it brought me to tears. This story is as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming. The characters go through so much and their stories are told with such reverence. I loved the multi-timeline, multi-narrator style of storytelling, and the writing itself was stunning — I highlighted so many passages! The unique perspective of the tree and the attention paid to the natural world throughout made this book absolutely fascinating to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, War, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Abortion, Child death, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, and Mental illness

mlkai's review against another edition

emotional informative sad slow-paced

3.0

i read it for the trees 🌳✨
writing to floral & detailed for my taste. the love story didn’t grab me. learning about the civil war felt heavy, timely, real. learned a lot about trees tho which i’m happy about

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Homophobia, Death of parent, Hate crime, Alcoholism, Violence, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, and Murder

Minor: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Child death, Suicide, Animal death, and Mental illness

bethancy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I was a bit intimidated by this book at first, but once I got into the story I couldn't put it down. This books is so beautiful and is packed with powerful images, revelations, and emotion. I really loved it, and the story will remain with me for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Xenophobia, and Abortion

Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Rape

mraddd's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Child death, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Racism, War, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicide, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Islamophobia

Minor: Bullying, Sexual content, and Animal death

adampjt's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Death, Grief, and War

Moderate: Sexual content, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Murder, and Hate crime

Minor: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Infertility

deluna's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Racism, Death of parent, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Murder, and War

robintchappell's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Homophobia, Death of parent, Death, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Pregnancy and Child death

mikaclapson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, War, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Child death, Alcoholism, and Mental illness

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

this did not quite live up to the hype for me. i thought it was good but not great. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Death, Death of parent, and Abortion

cecilialau_'s review against another edition

4.5

Definitely recommend this book and I’m looking forward to reading other books by Elif Shafak.
My expectations were unfairly high but I still really enjoyed this book and the subtle beauty of the story only gets better with time imo. The story has definitely grown on me since, so I had to up the rating to a 4.5 (started on a 4.25 tbh).

I very much appreciate fiction as a way to learn more about a historical period in time. With this I didn’t know much about the civil war in Cyprus but it gave an insight into it (though only superficially of course as part of the plot line and it’s also not nonfic).
The owners of The Happy Fig were essential to my reading experience btw. The parrot’s story told by the fig tree was heartbreakingly beautiful as well. I thoroughly appreciated the fig tree telling us about the essential role and relevance of ecosystems. 

Not sure how I felt about Defne’s soul inhabiting the fig tree at the end though, I have to say.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Murder, Alcoholism, Child death, Colonisation, Genocide, Mental illness, Abandonment, and Death of parent