Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

13 reviews

bookishpsychologist's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

2.0

Unfortunately this book combined many of my least favorite themes: unlikable and selfish main characters, no quotation marks making it difficult to follow on the paper version, limited plot, and minimal character growth or development.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Classism, Infertility, Chronic illness, Self harm, and Mental illness

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Pregnancy

notsosecrethistory's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcoholism, and Suicidal thoughts

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

my second go with Sally Rooney (first being Normal People), and this time was much more enjoyable. nowhere near as bleak and depressing, but still very emotional. i found the narrator’s desperate need for validation relatable; me too girlie. really well plotted. don’t be fooled by the title though: it’s a lot of internal monologue and more about the conversations that didn’t happen than the ones that did.

i have to comment on the US cover, especially for the audiobook (storygraph shows a different one but you can see what i’m talking about here: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41DTekX2n4L._SL500_.jpg). first of all, i don’t mind the composition but i dislike the art style, its flatness and lifelessness when this book is all about complex characters. but what really bothers me is that i think some other artist was given the task of adapting the cover art to a square aspect ratio for the audiobook, and literally copied, pasted, and mirrored the original tightly-cropped faces, adding in the nose bits. because, why are they so symmetrical?? why are their facial features so small?? it’s firmly in the uncanny valley. shoutout to the Danish cover, though, so pretty: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/0bf9c4f3-3123-4d7b-a6b5-8955ff06e5f6
edit: the Russian hardcover is also beautiful: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/183d6a3b-d207-4cfb-aa9e-e36bc6df3f84 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Body horror, Child abuse, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Vomit, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, War, Classism, and Miscarriage

aprilnotmay's review

dark reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Infidelity, Medical content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Blood, Infertility, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

magicshop's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body shaming, Dysphoria, Medical content, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Abandonment

anneroza's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Infidelity, Addiction, Chronic illness, and Self harm

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Vomit, Mental illness, and Infertility

Minor: Biphobia, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Miscarriage

elysiumreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

This book was… meh.
I loved the actual writing, it was so good and engaging I finished the book even though the contents were a bit lacking for me. The stakes were incredibly low, everyone was annoying for some reason or the other, and I saw no character development really. I think this book just wasn’t for me, but I can see how others may love it as a ‘barely any plot, mostly vibes’ novel and I will definitely try other Rooney books - I know I will find a new favourite in her work.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm and Chronic illness

Minor: Vomit, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

nicolinebl's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Definitely prefer this book over Rooney's other novel Normal People, although, to be fair, I was probably a bit too young to read that book back then (time for a re-read!). Her characters are never very likeworthy and  definitely remind me of the main characters in Exciting Times & A Year of Rest and Relaxation. Even though Frances wasn't likeable, she was quite relatable in other ways. I guess you will always relate more to a flawed character than some miss-perfect. 

I'm not quite sure how to describe what I thought of this book other than it feeling like taking a road-trip, getting to know the characters through observing and listening to them. It is a book that is very much about its characters and their actions. It's not a wild adventurous story but I was still on the edge of my seat, curious where the story would go. This is the second book by Sally I've read and her characters tend to be quite pretentious, not sure if that is on purpose or not. I do like the philosophical and intellectual conversations they have with each other though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Infertility, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Drug use, Sexual assault, War, Eating disorder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, Sexism, Racism, Rape, and Misogyny

darbylane's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Blood, Chronic illness, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Self harm

Moderate: Gaslighting, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abandonment, Police brutality, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

scarjs's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Chronic illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Alcoholism