Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

20 reviews

chrisljm's review against another edition

mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-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? Yes

4.0

Despite the short length of the book, it is a slow start full of world building. However once you get past that it is so incredibly captivating, and I come to realize how amazing the world building is. Although Piranesi isn’t the only character, he is pretty much the only character you see majority of the time, but even so he’s engaging and the storytelling is fantastic, immersive, and so unique. I loved how soft the fantasy elements were and the way the novel was structured. Basically everything that I found slightly confusing at first were all things that I came to appreciate and really enjoy. 

I think Susanna Clarke deserved the awards she got for this book, and I understand why I heard so much praise for it, but I can also see how this book wouldn’t be for every type of reader. Luckily, I enjoyed it immensely and I found that this is the type of story that lingers and leaves a lot to think on afterwards. One of them being that personally, I would love to see The House because to Me it sounded beautiful despite its solitude. I also think it would be interesting to see how other readers viewed The House, in a personality test type of way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Excrement, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture

aelis's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Mental illness

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

madmantha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Emotional abuse, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Stalking, Abandonment, Child death, Cursing, Dementia, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Blood, Vomit, Deadnaming, Torture, Trafficking, and Gun violence

The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.

billyjepma's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

You know that feeling you get when reading a book, the sense that usually creeps on you and whispers that you’re experiencing something you’re going to remember? Yeah, that’s what it felt like reading this.

This is a book that pulls from a lot of brilliant sources and ideas and rearranges them in new, unique, and endlessly fascinating ways. It’s a puzzle box of rewarding twists and turns that manages to be frightening in the ideas it offers but gently mysterious in its delivery of them. It’s the kind of story I loved the experience of reading, which usually correlates with books that end up becoming lasting favorites.

I will absolutely be forcing everyone I know to read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Mental illness

Minor: Child death, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

thestarfly's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Death

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

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

lizardbet's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Dementia, and Kidnapping

Minor: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Violence

rieviolet's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

I think what I liked the most was Piranesi himself as a narrator, how we slowly discover the house and the story connnected to it from his point of view. 

It is a very imaginative story and certainly very unique, I was really captured by the first half and I still enjoyed the second one, but I think that as the plot progressed and we discovered the darker aspects of it, some of the initial brillance got lost, at least for me. It was still a very enjoyable read that I had trouble putting down (a good half of it I read in just one sitting) and a very well crafted story. 

I also had some personal quibbles over the treatment of certain topics (mailny the only depiction of queerness and also a quite fatphobic description at the very end of the story that really annoyed me) that dimmed my general enjoyment of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Violence, Torture, Gun violence, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Cursing, Vomit, Murder, Gore, Excrement, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Panic attacks/disorders

hazelsnoot's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

Reread 12/3/23. 4.75/5 stars. Minus .25 star for the weird fatphobia in the final chapter, and low level but pervasive homophobia towards the main villain?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Mental illness, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Gun violence

Minor: Homophobia, Fatphobia, Excrement, Gun violence, and Child death

meg_elyse's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dementia, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

nyoom's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Drug abuse, Medical content, and Suicide attempt