Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld

42 reviews

ileniis_'s review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Child death, Incest, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Animal death, Death, Excrement, Grief, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

floorw25's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Self harm, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Racism, Incest, Eating disorder, Death, Child death, Suicide, Grief, and Emotional abuse

janethevirgin46's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This book was weird. Wildly uncomfortable if not absolutely disgusting. The themes made me nauseous and certain scenes made me put the book down for a bit. Besides the content of the book, I felt some wording was off. It might have been the translation I got but you could tell it was their first novel. It had too many metaphors and similes, it got to feel repetitive. It’s an ok book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Death, Abandonment, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide, Incest, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Excrement, and Mental illness

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Animal death

justsayfit's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-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? No

4.0

This is such a well written but highly traumatic book. It deals with family death, depression, eating disorders, abuse, religion and suicide. It is impossible to say that it is a joy to read. In the beginning, it is almost charming to read the ideas of a young girl and her outlook on the world even while she is trying to deal with the death of her brother which she thinks that she is responsible for. The whole family spirals into depression and she tries so hard to make her sense of it. Because her mother in now anorectic and probably a closet alcoholic who drinks in the Celler, the child somehow thinks that the mother is hiding Jews in the cellar and is giving them the food that she herself is not eating. There numbers of such strange thoughts. The child longs so much for consolation and warmth, that she would do just about anything to get any, but her parents are too distracted with their own sorrow and are a bit too “Protestant” to give warmth. Only work gives solace. So many things occur that made me physically and viscerally ill. In the end, I just wanted it all to be over with and, I guess, that was the goal. The reader has no choice but to totally empathise with the child and agree to the only solution that she could devise. It does not end well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Excrement, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Antisemitism, Bullying, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Animal cruelty, Child death, Grief, Physical abuse, and Self harm

melissaroos's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The book made me uncomfortable, true to it's title. But I somehow did kind of like it. The writing style sucks you into the book and you do want to know what the characters will do. It's not for the faint of heart

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Death, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide, Mental illness, Child abuse, Self harm, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Incest

maya7's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Excrement, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, and Animal death

Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts

lindsaylhunter's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

1.0

Amazed that I managed to finish this one. I love a creepy, twisted book, but this one did not read well. Very little empathy for any of the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Mental illness

lucy_junor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

“We find ourselves in loss and we are who we are - vulnerable beings, like stripped starling chicks that fall naked from their nests and hope they’ll be picked up again.” 

A truly heart-wrenching portrayal of death and grief through the eyes of a child. While many parts of this book made me very uncomfortable I also found something very relatable and honest in Jas’ rationalisation of what was happening to her family, as well as her desire to single-handedly fix her parents relationship and become one with her siblings again.

I also sympathised with Jas’ need to find justification in what’s happening to her as she grows up and adapts to the ever changing dynamics in her family and community - I think that’s something everyone can understand at a personal level in one way or another.

This novel does a beautiful job at showing how our relationship with grief is not linear but rather something that follows us throughout our lives like a shadow, effecting everything we think, do, and become.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Incest, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Violence, Mental illness, and Self harm

erikwmj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Child abuse, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Antisemitism, Blood, Abortion, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Body shaming, and Ableism

judythedreamer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Self harm, Vomit, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Grief, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Excrement, Incest, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Suicide, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape