Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

85 reviews

sgreising's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

4.5

• 4.5/5 a really beautiful novel about how generational childhood trauma can impact a persons adult hood, and how one woman breaks that cycle 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Mental illness

kdsmoove's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

to quote a goodreads review i saw “FUCK YEAH LEAVE HIS ASS GIRL!” i literally cheered at my desk, i was so proud of yara standing up for herself and learning to love herself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Mental illness

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, Racism, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

jediprincess's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Genocide, War, and Racism

mmccombs's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

3.5

Character-driven and deeply emotionally grounded, Evil Eye was a compelling narrative about motherhood, intergenerational trauma, and the expectations placed on Palestinian women. I enjoyed the journal entries which created strong connections to Yara’s family and roots in Palestine. However, I did find this book to be quite repetitive and simplistic, the writing did not spark anything in me (Yara’s hands shook and blood rushed in her ears in almost every chapter) and the dialogue was very wooden (somehow every character sounded like a therapist, it was kind of strange). Something kept me from fully connecting with Yara and this story, maybe something with the organization left me feeling emotionally distant from the true weight of Yara’s past. I do think I’d recommend this book especially if you love character-driven stories about women finding themselves and their voices, but I think I expected a bit more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Genocide and Suicidal thoughts

fatima_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Emotional abuse

drraytay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Violence, Colonisation, War, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, and Death of parent

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Death, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Racism, Cursing, Misogyny, War, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Death of parent, and Physical abuse

Minor: Islamophobia

warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Evil Eye is a profound story about family, trauma and healing. We follow Yara, a Palestinian-American woman as she confronts her childhood and the idea that she may be cursed by it, the same thing that plagued her mother. With this heartbreaking metaphor for mental illness and generational trauma, this book explores how someone can be impacted by these things but not defined by them.  

I thought the format of the story was really interesting too using the journal entries to show her cherished memories of her grandmother in Palestine alongside the scenes of her traumatic childhood. Every one of her journal entries helped me to understand her character a little more and how deeply the abuse her mother faced impacted both of them. 

I listened to the audiobook version and it was moving and immersive, I felt like I was in Yara’s head. Even though I don’t share her particular situation, I related so much to her anxiety and the strained relationship she had with her mother. The writing is beautiful and resonant, and you really get to see Yara as she fully is, a person with flaws yes, but also someone with wishes and dreams no matter what anyone else wants from her. 

I really enjoyed seeing her go through the healing process and begin to question how her past formed who she is and if she’s really content with the stagnant marriage she is in. 

Watching her really accept that she needed help and actively try to heal was really impactful to me. It made me really happy when she started to realized that she deserved more than this marriage and that she wanted better than Fadi. 

Throughout the book, my heart broke for her every time she ended up in a fight with Fadi. While on the surface he seems like the ideal husband supporting his family, the cultural and familial expectations really weigh on him and you can see how it affects him through how he treats Yara. While he wasn’t physically abusive, he was so frustrating because he never made an effort to understand her and dismissed her emotional needs. He was so stuck in his perception of what life is supposed to be like that any attempt by Yara to question it made him defensive and condescending, as if Yara didn’t understand the “real world.” In this way, we get to see how the patriarchy impacts everyone and no one is free while under this system. 

This book definitely made me more aware of my own anxieties and feelings, and made me think about my own relationship with my mother. It also really made me think about how patriarchal systems affect everyone. Particularly how distant and misunderstood women may feel having to do all this emotional and physical labor as wives and mothers and being told their dreams are foolish and unattainable. Evil Eye is such a poignant book and everyone should read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Mental illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Islamophobia and Racism

hdennis799's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Mental illness, and Racism

nonfictionfeminist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Another excellent story from Rum. This one felt slow and heavy, and it felt as though Rum was forcing me to slow down, take my time, savor it, study it. I found myself rereading sentences, not because I didn't understand them, but because I needed to pause, picture them, take them in and sit with them for a minute. This may just be my favorite book of 2023.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexism

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts