Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

1984 by George Orwell

20 reviews

rebekahatkinson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism and Classism

Moderate: Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

reminiscences's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Medical content, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Torture, War, and Vomit

southcarolina's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

We feel that we are paper, choking on you nightly.

You would be hard-pressed to find a book more immediately engaging than 1984. The worldbuilding is paced perfectly, firstly offering us glimpses of Winston’s small rebellions such as keeping a diary. We get to see his daily life under Big Brother and the challenges he faces before the main plotline starts. This immediately hooked me in, as I felt the book unfolded naturally and the city was easy to picture in my mind. I was able to connect to his struggles, and the pace ramps up naturally rather than a sudden shock to the system.


We’re put into Winston’s perspective, and I found not having been spoiled was thrilling. Being unsure on who to trust, was novel, and I wasn’t expecting the eventual betrayal to come from a certain character. During one part of the book, specifically the brotherhood scene, I did feel it was too good to be true. I’m glad the writing didn’t treat the audience like a fool and my suspicions were very clearly founded. 


The last portion of the book is incredibly disturbing, but after the attention given to the cruelty of the party, it feels deserved and not out of left field. The ending is especially impactful, as you can feel Winston’s thoughts have been completely tangled. The narration is inconsistent intentionally, and I think it made a great impact.


Orwell has a very direct writing style, typically favouring shorter sentences, with the occasional long line for impact. He doesn’t need to bloat the text with unnecessary language, and it was a joy to read and put myself in Winston’s shoes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Torture

Minor: Classism

metanoialaxy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Gore, Gaslighting, War, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, and Abandonment

petitemass15's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Torture, and Confinement

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Police brutality

Minor: War and Xenophobia

f18's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Medical trauma, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, and Police brutality

Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, and War

Minor: Sexual content, Gore, Rape, Racism, Excrement, Racial slurs, Fatphobia, Sexism, Antisemitism, Suicide, Murder, Child death, Slavery, Vomit, Alcohol, Ableism, and Fire/Fire injury

descriptions of hangings, child labor, tooth trauma,

involuntary shock therapy

martu_pm's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and War

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Colonisation, Confinement, and Cursing

quamarx's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Sexual violence

marsisred's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, and Violence

antoniaodernein's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Torture, Sexism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Death, Blood, and Hate crime

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Vomit