Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Los peces no existen by Lulu Miller

31 reviews

brookeslots's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Such a wonderful book. It is part memoir, part history, part philosophy. Will be thinking about it for years to come. Fish don’t exist!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide

majesticbirdy's review against another edition

adventurous informative medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide

cass_lit's review against another edition

3.0

There is a certain category of nonfiction that doesn’t work for me. This started off like that and I was worried. 

I had no idea where this was going for most of this book. It seemed in the beginning like a stream of consciousness about “chaos” as the author worked through some thoughts on dependency (her dad, her ~curly haired~ ex-boyfriend). (All of her thoughts there are totally valid, I just don’t get a lot of enjoyment out of reading them.) I did not understand her obsession with David Starr Jordan at first, but then she started telling us all of the shitty things he did and I REALLY did not understand why he deserved a book that wasn’t focused on setting his reputation straight. When someone uses his power to cover sexual assault with threats and potentially murders someone (and definitely gaslights the hell out of her after her death), I’m simply not interested in the psychology behind why he did it. He did it and he was wrong. In my opinion, the author’s desperation to find out why Jordan was like this felt like she was trying to find an excuse for him. 

The last ~1/4 or so of the book truly saved it for me. Miller felt like she was unequivocally calling Jordan a bad person, and she even got a little vindictive - deservedly. The threads of the story finally started to make some sense and I could find a point to why she wrote this. I am in awe of Anna and Mary’s strength for getting through what they did; they’re a great model of what women (and all humans!) can be, no matter what depraved narcissists have said. I also didn’t know that “fish” wasn’t considered a scientific classification any longer, so it was equally as interesting as it was satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Medical trauma

Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Suicidal thoughts

avrowland96's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful informative medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Ableism

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Biphobia

katyaw's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

3.0

There are so many content warnings, I lost count. Suicide attempts, infidelity, drinking to excess, racism, depression, nihilism, murder, eugenics, forced sterilization, etc.

The author writes well, but the book really centers on nihilism and human destructiveness in the name of desperately searching for order and comfort in this world. 

I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone sensitive.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abandonment and Rape

audieverde's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.5

Took awhile to get into and I never knew where it was going, which I realized was part of the chaos and the point of the book. Once I was in it, I could not stop , and it sent me down numerous research rabbit holes.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Rape, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, and Child abuse

emhunsber's review against another edition

challenging dark informative slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abortion, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: War, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicide, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Infertility, Homophobia, Hate crime, Grief, Gore, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Fatphobia, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Colonisation, Child abuse, Car accident, Body horror, Blood, Biphobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Ableism

starscattered's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Beautiful, clever, and thought-provoking. This is a wonderful novel and I tore through it (definitely didn’t stick to the Life’s Library timings on this one, I started it early and I honestly couldn’t put it down). This part biography, part memoir is a real lesson in nuance and how we see (and how we should see) the world around us. Stunning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Forced sterilisation and sterilisation laws

jennifer_'s review against another edition

adventurous funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

A refreshingly honest, gentle narration of an interesting story. The true beauty of the book lies in its second half-- the culmination of the author's (and David Starr Jordan's) life experience. Why Fish Don't Exist is an interesting combination of science, philosophy, good, evil, beauty, ugliness, and a search for meaning. The care with which the author writes about the misunderstood members of society feels respectful and earnest, not patronizing or pitying. A well-written, thought-provoking read. Would recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

Moderate: Abandonment and Suicide attempt

Minor: Infidelity and Murder

peevishbird's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical trauma