Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

19 reviews

chiaraaaa's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Abortion, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Genocide, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Racism, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual content, and Sexism

Minor: Animal death

funkyyicken's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Torture, War, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

cozylifewithabby's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I loved the narrative style and the weaving of different perspectives. I also appreciate the threads of events that all tie together by the end. However, though I do like magical realism and the fantastic, I had a hard time stomaching all the violence (mostly domestic and sexual with some torture) that is thrown in nonchalantly. Also, although the violence comes back to wreak havoc on the next generation it is almost always the women or the good who pay for the mistakes of the men (or more "manly" men in their lives. I might have more to say later, but for now those are my thoughts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Car accident, Death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Abandonment, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Police brutality, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Medical content, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, and Homophobia

perseffable's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, War, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Murder

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

the house of the spirits is a sprawling and gripping family epic of the trueba family, whose triumphs and trials mirror those of their own nation. quite unbelievable that it's a debut work. it's filled to the brim w/ details of everyday life in both the household and the hacienda, of the characters' persona--and, consequently, their fears, desires, and motives behind their actions--of the city and the chilean countryside, all of which bring the characters and the story to remarkable life.

however, i do find certain details a bit too gory, too many details felt overwhelming and disjointed at times, and estreban has the honor of being one of most detested male literary characters ever--everyone but the stubborn old crone ends up paying for the consequences of his actions, blerggghhh. the political stuff can be both exciting and stressful, and i learned so much abt chilean history that i'll prolly go down a wiki rabbithole after this. this is what i love abt reading translated works: u learn so much abt other places and cultures. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cursing, Confinement, Kidnapping, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Car accident, Body horror, and Death of parent

evenstarwen's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide

anna_banana99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

menomica's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

Aunque es un libro muy largo y muy denso, a mí me ha gustado el linaje familiar y como los eventos y sucesos tienen se influencian entre sí. Está lleno de trigger warnings, pero si lo puedes aguantar, y si tienes mucho tiempo que perder, y eres fan del drama y historias largas y enrevesadas, te recomiendo este libro (no lo digo como insulto: como ya he dicho, me ha gustado el libro bastante).

PS: El peor personaje de todo este libro es sin duda, Esteban Trueba. La mejor fue Clara Del Valle

y ADIVINAD QUIÉN MUERE PRIMERO

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Abortion, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Car accident, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Stalking, Vomit, and Ableism

egmamaril's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Violence, Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Racism, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Homophobia, and Ableism

Ableist slurs, kink shaming, queer vilification