Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

4 reviews

aisclaradm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-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? Yes

3.75

A great book about music, drugs, love, grief, but mainly about youth, and about how difficult it can be to find yourself and your identity as a young person. It was so immersive and engaging, and even though at times it felt fan-fictionesque because of interactions with real artists of the time, this added a lot to a nostalgic feel for a decade I haven’t even experienced. Some plot lines were brilliant and completely unexpected,

such as the discovery that Jasper’s schizophrenia was actually due to a very real supernatural entity lodged in his mind,

and I really really loved these arcs, though I wish they had had more of a central role in the story. The ending was a bit of a gut-punch, 

and Dean’s death, right after having had his numerous epiphanies about life, disappointed me hugely,

but I suppose it had the intended effect.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Confinement, Genocide, and War

plantainicus's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Grief, and Death of parent

jordangddrd's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

I loved almost every part of this book, and the fresh take on a classic rock band where the members don't all hate each other's guts really compelled me to finish this book more than other similar recent releases. <The ending was Stand By Me levels of shocking and heartbreaking.> That being said, the descriptions and roles of POC characters in this book didn't meet the standards I would expect from a book written in 2020. Also, the dialogue from American characters but especially <Janis Joplin> (who was from Texas) felt to me like David Mitchell has maybe never had a conversation with an American person.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Car accident, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Fatphobia, and Antisemitism

joyjoyjoy's review against another edition

5.0

This is a completely self-indulgent 5 star. No, I have no clue what was happening half the time. Yes, the phonetic accents were slightly distracting. Yes, a few too many celebrities were name-dropped. And yes, I cried buckets.

This is just totally my kind of book. Queer characters get to exist unapologetically, and the premise of the book is so exactly my thing that it's ridiculous. I still haven't found a way to process the ending, or what the hell was going on with Jasper, but I will. 

Anyway, Elf is my new hero and I want to play psychedelic folk-jazz-rock now. 

I would also like to note that this book takes place in the 60s, and as such the language used and viewpoints shown are definitely outdated sometimes. Take heed of the trigger warnings. Specific instances include a couple of mentions of the words "poof"/"queer"/"f*g" etc, some cultural appropriation of Native American imagery, and the use of the historically misogynistic and racist epithet directed against Indigenous women that I don't want to write out (it starts with 's'). The overall tone of the book is quite accepting and positive, but these things do come up. As for the representation of mental illness, I can't give a verdict on that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Police brutality, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, and War