Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

85 reviews

singalana's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

The vibes of this book didn't match my vibes at all. The narration in both the novel and the audiobook feels distant and resigned. It feels very aloof, and for at least the beginning of the book, the events feel inconsequential and frankly, uninteresting. At first it's difficult to know whether the events are connected somehow. I didn't care for any of the characters and it was hard to sympathise with them. When I picked it up, I thought the genres were going to be suspense and thriller, but there are none of those elements. 

Writing is good, and there are a few interesting, even picturesque moments, but this book is not what I thought it would be. It was aloof, resigned and meandering. The best thing that I could say about this book was that it was a bit haunting and made me feel adrift. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Dementia, and Drug abuse

innerweststreetlibrarian's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad 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

3.75

I enjoyed Sea of Tranquility more but I’m still glad I read this one. It was interesting to get more of the back story for some of the characters in SoT, even though I didn’t particularly like any of them very much. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Grief, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Classism, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

mdvlspencer's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Suicide

kcarney86's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug abuse, Dementia, and Addiction

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

theotheleo's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.25

definitely poetic and interesting. not as good as Station Eleven tho.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Drug abuse

Moderate: Confinement and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Medical content, and Death

samanthaleeshea's review

mysterious reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Death

hinkleh's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse

li22ie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Infidelity

noroomforghosts's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Drug use, Suicide, and Terminal illness

erikamtini's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

I enjoy how Mandel slowly unfurls the mystery. But, I felt like it got a little slow/tedious in the middle. The pacing could have been better? It may be that I'm comparing this book too much to the Sea of Tranquility, which I really loved.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Death, and Physical abuse