Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

20 reviews

cleansky7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

becca_w_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Confinement, Death, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Death, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Abandonment, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, Cursing, and Mental illness

laurenipsum's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Gun violence, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, and Violence

abookwormspov's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Confinement, Violence, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse

tifftastic87's review against another edition

mysterious reflective 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? No

4.0

Piranesi lives in what he calls "the House" collecting data and making notes. There is no one living with him, just the Other, who visits twice a week and asks questions. One of these questions is strange and Piranesi starts looking back over his data and everything starts slowly coming to light. 

The story was definitely slow, atmospheric and mysterious. We only find things out as Piranesi does and are just as confused as he is most of the time. I honestly didnt put it together until near the end and was so pleased with it. 

Another "just vibes" book but any attempt at describing vibes would spoil the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, and Gun violence

Minor: Excrement

miller8d's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing slow-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? No

4.0

I loved that this book felt like a refreshing escape from the normal structure and narrative that many fiction books follow.

I was surprised by most of the book, and deeply appreciated that the magic of this universe was both fantastical and simple, both logical and inexplicable. I found myself confused about the storyline/losing focus frequently throughout the book, which normally would bother me, but it felt like I was experiencing the same thing as the narrator LOL, which I enjoyed. I found the narrator’s genuinely kind soul very touching and deeply enjoyed the process of discovering what had happened. I didn’t realize it was a mystery novel until halfway through which is awesome. The well-established isolated world meant that, with the appearance of each new person or information, it was genuinely shocking. Very interesting and refreshing read.

Also, I pictured The Other as Brett Goldstein.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Kidnapping, Gun violence, Dementia, Confinement, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Vomit and Violence

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Trafficking, and Blood

Although this book covers many dark topics,

beyond the main topics of confinement and kidnapping and gaslighting,

there are very few graphic descriptions of physical violence or torture. Like for example,

there is a gun and attempted shooting, but nobody actually gets shot, and there are no graphic details about it, etc.

anivino's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective slow-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? No

5.0

i read a lot of reviews on piranesi prior to reading it, and they were the reason i delayed reading it for such a long time. i wasn't particularly thrilled about the minotaurus myth retelling. as time went by, i started forgetting all the reviews, and when it came across my suggestions for reading, i just went for it. and it was absolutely worth it. i enjoyed the immersive world that the author created, and enjoyed spending time with piranesi in the house. i usually don't like themes of mental health in literature as it may be triggering, but it was ok for this book, and i really liked how the author incorporated it in the story and dealt with the inner conflict of the main character. now, i'm waiting to for enough time to pass to return to this world once again.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

eauderat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Toxic friendship

oswaldprivileges's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

The best book I've read this year. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse

sonlight21's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

2.75

If you like academia, wether that be light or dark or whatever, you would enjoy this book. I have never gotten into that genre/trope before but it was interesting. I loved the writing style it was beautifully lyrical and simple to understand. It didn’t feel like the author was trying to be overly intellectual or talk down to the reader. 
However this book fell a little flat for me. I think that many people would adore this book and many people may not like it. Personally it was just kinda there for me. I could see the plot twist coming from the fist chapter, and I don’t know if that’s because I analyze peoples writing too much or watch too many mystery shows but when the “plot twist” came I was like FINALLY. I also went into the book completely blind. I didn’t read the back cover or anything about it. 
If you enjoy the academia trope you should give this book a try! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Gaslighting