Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

49 reviews

sophisticotton's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

After loving Sorrowland last year, I tried this. I really enjoy Solomon’s writing, and while I liked this less, I was fine with being swept away on the journey even when I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Rape

hannah_a_r_teatalksbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

3.5

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding in this book; conceptually, it was fascinating. However, sometimes mysteries were picked up and set down again for reasons that escaped me. One example is the place where Lune's notes were stored, which seemed like it could have been much more developed. The resolution of the mystery of Lune's disappearance was anticlimactic,

and I was also very confused about the insistence the book had that she slit her throat, when there was no body and we never find out what happened

. Mostly, I was just unprepared for the incessant sexual violence in the book. There is so much sexual violence. It made the book hard to read, and not in the "this is hard but good/important for me" way, but in the "yes, we get it already, women of the Lowerdecks are raped incessantly, yes, I understand the problems inherent in this society and how it represents our own past and present, we've now passed the point where it develops theme, character, and plot and is just beating me up" sort of way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Rape, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

Minor: Incest and Pedophilia

riverrliam's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.25

This book is heavy on science terms, so be prepared to look things up! Some of the plot was confusing to me, but overall it was entertaining and a quick read. I liked all the queer representation. I love a dystopian story / escape for a better world and the setting was unique. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Self harm, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

This is one of those books that I close after finishing and stare off into the middle distance for a solid ten minutes, just… processing.

I feel like I should have a bunch of really thoughtful reactions to this story, since there’s obviously so much going on thematically, but more than anything I just feel like my brain is stuck on the buffering screen, lol.

I loved the premise—an enormous space vessel acting as a sort of Noah’s ark, harboring a human population fleeing earth in search of the proverbial promised land. I appreciated the autistic, intersex, trans/non-binary, and asexual representation, as well as the allegorical interpretation of the antebellum south.

I struggled a little bit with some of the dense “science-y” terminology and just ended up skimming a lot of it, assuming I’d be able to get the gist. I had a similar issue when I tried to visualize some of the things described (in particular, the fields where lowerdeck workers harvest crops). The only other thing that threw me off sometimes was the quick jumps around through time, and not being able to sure when a “flashback” is being described and at what point have we jumped to the present again.

Other than that I really enjoyed this book, especially the second half. It’s beautifully-written, and the characters are nuanced and richly crafted.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Gun violence, Vomit, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury

jdianm's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Abortion, and Death of parent

third_bookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective 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

4.5

This was good! I enjoy Solomon's writing a lot. The ending was not as satisfying as I would have liked, but it made sense with the rest of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

writererinm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, and Toxic friendship

arguhlincozzi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

oworthyfool's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Rivers Solomon weaves a deft tale of oppression, family, and ultimately hope in the face of human evil. A timely story of how society turns on the less fortunate and intentionally marginalized, the focus nonetheless is of Aster struggling to make sense of her mother's death, the day of her own birth. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Excrement, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment