Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

19 reviews

sandysawmill's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

5.0

I’ve started this book several times and it finally clicked. Such an interesting dive into a piece of chicago and architectural history, as well as one of the first serial killers in the US. My favorite parts were about early unions and capitalists and the parallels to today; the description of new inventions that came out at the fair such as the Ferris wheel and shredded wheat; and the history of urban architecture and city planning like how the first skyscrapers were created and how much architecture can shape people’s lives and dreams. Architecture as “frozen music.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Murder, Blood, and Mental illness

bookycnidaria's review

dark funny informative sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Dementia, Child abuse, Racism, Child death, Murder, and Mental illness

psdarlin's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Child death, Mental illness, Colonisation, Death, Racial slurs, and Kidnapping

Minor: Racism, Stalking, Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Medical content, Chronic illness, and Homophobia

crownoflaurel's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Colonisation, and Child death

Moderate: Classism and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Xenophobia, Mental illness, Medical content, Trafficking, and Stalking

alagasianflame's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

As one who was more interested in H. H. Holmes than architecture history, let me say the high rating is largely due to the fact that Larson manages to make committees and ledgers equally as fascinating as a man who built his own murder castle without anyone noticing. This is accomplished by the extensive backgrounds Larson lays out for practically every major player involved in the designing and building of the Fair. At the beginning, these winding expositions seem extraneous and, at times I’ll admit, perhaps even a little dull, but they serve as a foundation upon which is built the later trials and tribulations of the Fair’s designers, much of which was apparently caused by interpersonal strife and not, necessarily, pure financial or physical deterrents. By turning flat facts into tragic or triumphant events in the personal lives of the men (and occasional woman) involved, they come alive and make this tale something more engaging than a dusty history text book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Racism, Child death, Death, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

lulugirl297's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Child death, Child abuse, Body horror, Abandonment, Violence, Lesbophobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Death, Toxic friendship, Suicide, and Confinement

ornateapple's review

dark informative mysterious sad slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual violence

magosti1's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

2.0

Deeply disturbing true crime novel about a serial killer in Chicago while the worlds fair was being built. Too disturbing 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Torture, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

sopranna's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

3.5

Impressive research, not a good hang. Incredibly dark. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

joviyanna's review

adventurous dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Suicide, Torture, Child death, Death, and Mental illness