Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Акулы во дни спасателей by Kawai Strong Washburn

11 reviews

anarmandameg's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

bekarebeka's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

LOVED this book. Perfect to read on vacation in Hawaii. I love some magical realism but this was even better and more real than a lot of what I've read. Beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Drug use and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual assault

dianna_reads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail

Also detailed look at poverty and generational trauma of always living paycheck to paycheck without financial security

hflh's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.25

NOTE: This author grew up in Hawaii, but is not Native Hawaiian. In an interview, he describes learning about the myths depicted in this book from friends and in school.

I really think this book is something special — It’s nothing and more than what I expected so I’m going to keep this review vague to try to maintain the mystery factor for other readers.

First of all, the PROSE. I wish I had the words to better describe Washburn’s style beyond that it feels so sharp and tactile. He also has a way of making the most mundane or unromantic things beautiful. This style is maintained across POVs while still keeping each character’s voice distinct.

For the story itself, the magical realism element is less of a focus and more of an avenue to deeply explore complex family dynamics and trauma (particularly related to colonization and poverty). The book switches between the POVs of three siblings as they grow up in a home where one gifted sibling carries the burden of helping financially support the family and the other two are in his shadow and, then, as all three try to ‘make it’ in some way on the mainland while separated from their family and dealing with old and new trauma. And it’s done so well.

It’s definitely heavy and emotional, but the characters also bring a lot of light and humour.

Unfortunately, I thought the last third lost itself a bit. I liked where it went, where it was going, and where it went after that, but that middle ‘where it was going’ part felt rushed compared to the care and depth in the first 2/3. This might have been what Washburn was going for, but it didn’t work as much for me. That being said, I’m excited for a future reread to see if my thoughts change and I’m eagerly awaiting Washburn’s next work.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Sexual violence, and Forced institutionalization

Major spoiler TW:

major death of a family member

andrewhatesham's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Car accident, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Classism

kelseyorzel's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense 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

4.5

4.5 stars. Sharks in the Time of Saviors was a very poignant tale of identity, family, poverty, capitalism, and loss. This book was beautifully written, the story was engaging, characters were developed (mostly), and the multiperspective narration that bounces around the members of a Hawaiian family was remarkably well done. So many big themes were explored while keeping the story well-paced and fascinating. I loved how the Hawaiian ethnicity of the central family allowed honest commentary on capitalism and politics from a viewpoint I do not often find in pop fiction. I enjoyed the magical realism elements of this book combined with some traditional Hawaiian mythological exploration. I also highly recommend the audiobook. It was a full-cast narration that was beautifully executed and solidified my connection to the characters

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Alcohol

Minor: Mental illness and Racism

kaiulanilee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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

This book was absolutely stunning in so many ways. 
Particularly the way it wove language into beautiful but sometimes very jarring sentences and the way the author was able to capture the distinct personalities and thoughts of each character with the way he wrote their chapters was brilliant. This is an absolutely brilliant story about family, resilience, Hawaiian mythology, and our connection to the world around us and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual assault

bobbijopmh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

“The kingdom of Hawai‘i had long been broken—the breathing rain forests and singing green reefs crushed under the haole fists of beach resorts and skyscrapers—and that was when the land had begun calling.”

This novel artfully blends harsh realities and magic, on a story encompassing all members of a single family and spanning decades of their lives. 

As someone who doesn't read a lot of magical realism, I wasn't really sure what to expect going into this. It's worth noting, though, that a lot of the ‘magic’ in this novel comes from Hawaiian traditional beliefs and lore.

The storyline had me gripped. With plenty of compelling twists and turns, which makes it hard to say much about the plot other than it's about finding a place where you truly belong, the relationships between family members, and the burdens that come with enormous expectations. 

Kawai Strong Washburn switches voice for the different perspectives presented perfectly; creating a deeper understanding and connection with each character through their voice and mannerism. Malia with her lyrical, poetic and emotional descriptions; Dean with his strong pidgin-Hawaiian accent; Kaui with her insecure “okay?” and “right”. It is very skillfully written. The descriptions of places, and feelings, are atmospheric and almost a sensory experience themselves. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it was unlike anything I've personally read before, and I can't wait to see what Kawai Strong Washburnwrites next!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Car accident

Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Drug use, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Rape and Suicidal thoughts