Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

7 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

inkamaar's review

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An interesting, entertaining, and - at times - confusing story of a band and its members. You never fully knew what was going to happen next. Very detailed work on musical processes and life as a musician in the '60s, the author sure did his research. I enjoyed reading it, although there were times when I felt like the book would never end. In the end I kind of wished it never did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

jackgoss's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Rape, and Death of parent

jujubees22's review against another edition

slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

b_austridge's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Death

Minor: Suicide attempt

apersonfromflorida's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Police brutality, and Grief

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and War

blenchbooks's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Sadly I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped or as much as Mitchell's other books I've read. As someone who isn't super familiar with the music scene of the late 60s, a lot of the nods to people and places didn't add anything for me. I went through most of the novel waiting for a speculative or interesting element to come in and when it did it felt like almost a completely different book had been shoved in. This section also heavily references The Bone Clocks and I think would possibly be quite confusing for those who hadn't read it. 
I really wanted to love this book and there were some parts that I really enjoyed but sadly it just wasn't a win for me. 
I would recommend this book for fans of the 60s or those who lived through them and want some nostalgia but I would also recommend reading his last three books first as I think understanding the references does add something to this one. 
I will still 100% pick up Mitchell's next book and I hope I enjoy it more than this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Drug use

Moderate: Child death and Suicide attempt