Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

23 reviews

august_18's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Vomit, Violence, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Gore, Sexual content, and Misogyny

Minor: Gaslighting and Bullying

bookishchaos's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The plot was very well constructed and quite unique. All the twists held my attention and the writing was good. The ending was extremely sad and unexpected but well executed. I wouldn't say it was "scary" but definitely unsettling. Would recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

yllex's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Vomit, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Body horror, Murder, and Blood

gbyronwilliams's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Excrement, Murder, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, and Death

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, and Excrement

Minor: Sexual assault, Bullying, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Excrement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Body horror, and Blood

exhumedprince's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, Stalking, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Chronic illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Misogyny, Excrement, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

mouse42's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I love a good unreliable narrator! Plus the audiobook was amazing, loved the voice actor 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicide, Vomit, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

foiblesandfiction's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

0.25

 i finish this book feeling both heartbroken and enraged.

another supposed horror story that leans its entire weight on villainizing mental illness and, in this case, that of a child, a girl.

fuck you, paul tremblay. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Body horror, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Child abuse

chloseencounter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This story was so much more than I ever could’ve expected. I loved the constant back and fourth of “is it mental illness or is it a demon?”, and ultimately it is kind of whatever you want and/or both, which I find to be a very fresh take on the haunting/possession genre. At the end of the day this was a family that was, in the very least, haunted by the ghosts of ideas, religious fear, money problems, a failing marriage, misogyny, mental illness, etc. The Berrets were manipulated, pushed, and agitated to the absolute breaking point. 

There was so much here, I honestly don’t even know how to talk about it all. First and foremost I think having the majority of this story being told in the eyes of an eight year old was great, there was so much tension even in Majorie’s most mild episodes because truthfully Merry had no idea what Marjorie might say or do, or if she (or anyone else) would protect her from someone she wasn’t even completely sure she was afraid of. I enjoyed all the nods to classic horror media but also the way common tropes were twisted and turned on their head, we’re asked “is anyone ever really possessed or has the church always been taking advantage of the vulnerability of the mentally ill and fueling the psychosis of the sick?” There were so many parallels and metaphors in the book I reveled in picking apart and analyzing, I think this novel had so much to say very eloquently hidden beneath what the story seemed to be at face value.

My one critique looks to be the common one…the blog sections were cringy at best and annoying at worst, but despite the kind of “hello fellow kids” attempt at writing a blog post that was supposed to sound as if it was written by a hip and up on the trends women in her early 20s, I still enjoyed the detached POV of what this family’s suffering looked like to the world and how the show succeeded to make good television but failed Majorie and Merry. (Every adult did to be completely honest) I also appreciated the  insight we got by hearing Merry’s thoughts coming from her child self, her adult self, and (vague spoiler) an alter ego of sorts. I thought it was sweet that in all three contexts you could still see Merry and how some bits of her personality never change.

Without spoiling I did actually quite like the twist ending because even that, may or may not be true. I think Merry has grown to be a fairly well rounded individual especially for what she’s been through, but even still, much like Majorie I think her head is full of ghosts too and maybe some things she said were simply manifestations of guilt but also maybe they weren’t…and I don’t think are meant to know for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Self harm, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Death, Gaslighting, and Gore

Moderate: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Vomit, Abandonment, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Minor: Excrement, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Alcohol, Cursing, Medical content, Misogyny, and Sexual content

the_endless_void's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death of parent, Excrement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Child death

eep's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

0.25

I absolutely hated this book. Its depiction of mental illness is harmful and gross. The author's attempts to be self-aware ultimately fail, and it follows every horrible part of 'possession'. The premise is a bit interesting, and could have worked if the author delved further into the effects of the TV show on the family, specifically Marjorie.

... and didn't have Marjorie ultimately kill herself and her parents, leaving her baby sister to rot..

When the main question of a book is "Is this character possessed or mentally ill?", it's hard to find anything likable about it. It's annoyingly written, and is essentially just trauma porn.

If you're looking for well written horror with investigation of mental illness at the forefront, I highly suggest The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. As a person with mental-illness, that book was almost comforting and beautifully written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Murder, Suicide, and Gaslighting

Minor: Drug abuse

As a mentally-ill person, this book was incredibly triggering and harmful.