Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

27 reviews

laurataylor's review

emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Toxic relationship, War, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Colonisation, Mental illness, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Death of parent

peskimo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, War, Violence, Suicide, Sexism, and Misogyny

abbyreadsandwrites's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and War

Moderate: Ableism and Abortion

annika_hogan's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Miscarriage, Infertility, Rape, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Abortion

rc_1991_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Very emotional read about female solidarity, misogyny and the search for redemption and life's meaning. Found the two female protagonist perspectives to be highly convincing and engaging and shed many tears towards the end! A challenging read which is made all the more emotionally harrowing given Kabul's current conflicts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, War, and Violence

Moderate: Child death and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Abortion, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, and Infidelity

larkais's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This was a really beautiful and sad novel about two women caught up in the Afghanistan wars. Both Mariam and Laila were written with such depth and love.

Mariam's childhood and relationship with her parents were terribly sad. Nana wished for a miscarriage while Jalil didn't want to publicly acknowledge that Mariam existed at all. 

Now a list of quotes/spoilers 

The children of strangers get ice cream. What do you get Mariam? Stories of ice cream.

There was a sort of intergenerational trauma in this story where Nana lived unhappily and passed on the burden of living to Mariam where she suicided the day Mariam went out to meet Jalil. Laila and Aziza also faced a brunt of Mariam's unhappiness early in their relationship.

There was a brief sort of joy when Mariam thought the arranged marriage was going to be okay: "Nana had been right about Jalil's gifts. They had been half hearted gifts of penance, insincere corrupt gestures meant more for his own appeasement that hers. This shawl, Mariam saw, was a true gift". 

Each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman ... as reminder of how women like us suffer. How quietly we must endure all that falls upon us. 

Laila never would have believed that a human body could withstand this much beating, this viciously and regularly but keep functioning.

I liked the islamic flamingo with water colour pants story! It was a light hearted break... after we got the revelation that Tariq never died!!! What I was screaming internally. 

When Mariam swung the shovel and killed Rasheed, wow, I'm glad that she was the one to do it in the end. It was powerful that she saved Laila's life and ended their suffering. There was no other light hearted moment for Mariam. 

All the call backs at the end of the story were so sad. The signing of her life away for the second time, the visit to her childhood outside of town and even to the Pinocchio movie (Jalil's letter/cinema call back was very sad).

I'm happy that Mariam's sacrifice gave Laila a better chance at life. She became a teacher and Aziza got to go to school. It's all wonderful especially if Laila has another baby girl, she already knew what to name her.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Suicide, Police brutality, and Mental illness

mniva21's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Hard to read but phenomenal 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence