Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

34 reviews

bonesnhoney's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I knew a lot about the story when I started reading the book due to the movie. I saw that when I was young, and was overwhelmed by the evil entity that invaded Regan. What I did not know or expect of the book was the poetry. The language used while narrating this horribly fascinating story was alive with beauty and depth. I suppose I expected something a bit more gutteral and base. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Drug use, Death, Vomit, Child abuse, Excrement, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Body horror

kier__'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Murder, Death, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcoholism, Cursing, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Vomit, and Physical abuse

bearystarry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Very similar to the movie, which isn't a bad thing. The antisemitism was ... gratuitous and unneeded. Other than that and a few other brief things I enjoyed this a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Sexism, Incest, Medical content, Sexual violence, Addiction, Antisemitism, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Gore, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Sexual content, Vomit, Misogyny, Medical trauma, and Rape

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Racism

kyra_joy's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I had high expectations this book and it didn’t really disappoint, it was a great story on exorcisms, I didn’t find it very scary personally but I am a pretty avid horror fan so for someone less use to horror I could see it being quite creepy. More than scary for me it had some more disturbing parts, and in general was paced pretty well you could feel the building tension of the possession. I loved almost all the characters  who seemed very real, and overall had a wonderful reading experience! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Blood, Self harm, and Sexual content

looneysoysauce's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Medical content

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Death of parent, Excrement, Grief, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

Minor: Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Antisemitism

thereadingdude's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Body horror, Cursing, Terminal illness, Blood, and Vomit

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, Medical content, Murder, Death, Gore, Excrement, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, and Alcohol

poirot's review against another edition

dark tense 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? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Vomit, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, and Excrement

Minor: Child death, Drug use, Suicide, and Addiction

rbrtvzz's review against another edition

dark hopeful medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Vomit

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Antisemitism and Homophobia

cinderrunner's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Brilliant example of a horror novel. Genuinely one of the best books i have yet to read in the genre. The horror isnt extremely in your face but it is still deeply unsettling. Its a bit of a slow burn. The way its written constantly challenges the notion of if Regan is truly possessed or just mentally ill, which mirror social beliefs and functions in a brilliant way. It really haunts you. The movie is, of course, iconic. But the way the book is constructed just flows and builds so much better. A must read for horro fans. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Child death, Xenophobia, Excrement, Suicide, Violence, Drug abuse, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Medical content, Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, and Mental illness

kristasorocks's review against another edition

dark fast-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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Gore, Body horror, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Drug use