Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Eleanor Oliphant sta benissimo by Gail Honeyman

438 reviews

bookworm356's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, and Sexual assault

shayna14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, Body shaming, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Rape, Ableism, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

maddyhavranek's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I liked this book! I really liked how easy of a read it was, and I found the characters lovable and interesting, and I found myself rooting for the friendships and relationships developing throughout the book. Honestly, this book sort of gave me A Man Called Ove vibes, but with a super dark twist, which did make it more enticing to me.

I think that the writing was well-done, and Eleanor’s character certainly read the way the author intended, but I can’t lie that I did get a little bit annoyed of being inside her head at times. Mainly just because she seemed so poorly adjusted that so many of the situations presented to her were handled differently than I would have, but I think this was in part the author’s intent. I really loved Raymond, but he did feel a little flat — I wish we got more of his backstory and a bigger peek into his life, rather than just how he fit into Eleanor’s.

 I also will say I did not guess the twist, which is both good and bad — I definitely thought that Eleanor had set the fire or that her mom was hiding out and pretending to be dead. TBH that may have been more interesting, but her being dead and Eleanor coming to terms with that was a necessary for the overall catharsis of the book.

Overall, a 4 star read because the story propelled me through it, but the characters outside of Eleanor fell a little flat.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

megan96smith's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Rape, Torture, and Stalking

stindex's review against another edition

hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking

fancyjess_party's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad slow-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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Murder, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Death of parent, Violence, Addiction, Child death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Ableism

jennswan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Rape

so_casually_cruel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book made me feel seen in ways I can't describe. It should be required reading for anyone who loves someone who's autistic and depressed 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury

charlottefaye's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.5

 I remember seeing this everywhere when it first came out, but only being 16 when it released it wasn’t of interest to me, as was definitely in my fantasy era/coming out of my reading habit due to starting college. 

My main issue with this book was how it was marketed, being described as a “warm, smart and uplifting story”. I was expecting a light hearted read based around a bit of a “messy” but relatable character trying to navigate life. This was not the experience! The actual book was a lot heavier and darker than what it was marketed as, which completely took me by surprise! 

The story deals with a lot of different topics and situations and was one I was interested to hear about but not always desperate to return to. Again, I think a lot of this is due to my expectations of the book and the subject matter being so different to what I expected. 

I also found a few aspects predictable including on of the main “twists/mysteries” which was revealed at the end, and a few of the plot points did not capture my interest compared to others. 

However, I still enjoyed listening to this audiobook and think it has some important things to say and is something I definitely don’t regret listening to. I would definitely recommend a read if you want a book that deals with past experiences and how these can influence yourself, but you do not have to let them define you and can grow/move on! But just be aware it is not as a light hearted read as it may be made out to be! 

Apparently it’s being turned into a film and I will definitely go see that!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Grief, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child death and Addiction

michellemalonza's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

I really enjoyed the writing of Eleanor's character - the story being told from her POV created a tone that kept me engaged throughout. Eleanor is such a layered & mysterious character who at first came off as overly proper even if she often thought & said things that she shouldn't, she had a standard for how she believed we're meant to participate in society. The story unfolds surprisingly yet beautifully at a pace that feels true to what it feels like to get to know a new friend & see pieces of their life and character come together. I particularly enjoyed the trajectory of her relationship with Raymond & how this influences how much more she believes is possible for herself. I also resonated with how tidily she viewed life despite how messy her experiences had been so far & how she took to practicality as a response to all the chaos & trauma.  Even if we do eventually start to see the real impact of her complicated & very traumatic early life.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Child death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body shaming, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail