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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
dark
reflective
sad
medium-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
I'm not going to lie; it took me quite a while to get hooked by this book. Wandering sentences and disjointed thoughts are not necessarily endearing to me. They remind me too much of modern experimental novels where the story is less important than form. Eventually I started getting involved and understanding the voice, and then halfway through the book I just had to find out more about the author. What I discovered was that this book was written as therapy in an effort to deal with the author's own experience in two mental hospitals in New Zealand when electroshock therapy and lobotomies were all the rage, and then I was horrified and fascinated and very very interested. It took two days to read the first third of the book, and three hours to read the last two thirds. It makes me curious - what things are we doing in society today that in fifty years will be looked at as atrocious and antiquated behaviour?
dark
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 rounded down. I really connected with this in a way I didn’t expect to
Frightening to reflect upon how women’s mental health conditions were “treated” in the past. Beautifully written.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Janet Frame takes us into the devastating reality of mental institutions with electro shock treatment, lobotomies and basicly no respect for patients. It's a heartbreaking story, especially when you read it with your 2019-glasses on. The treatment and understanding of mental problems has changed a lot since the 1950s, and thank heavens for that.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated