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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Ergh, didn’t like this one all. I think it was possibly the way it’s written. Nothing enticed me into it, and I was just bored.
medium-paced
dark
hopeful
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
This novel feels like a memoir, the fictional narrator at a slight remove. Perhaps fiction is a method we rely on to examine ourselves at a distance, safely and honestly. It feels right for this story, regardless how much it might draw from Janet Frame's own experience in mental health asylums. The narrator struggles for something to hold onto, a sense of self-belief in a purgatory of lost souls. The book spins in circles like an anxious mind, the plot tangled in reveries and careful observations of patients and staff, seeming to promise answers but their ultimate meaning remaining elusive. At times I wanted more dramatic movement to propel me through. Having lost the plot felt uncomfortable and lethargic. But then an image would cut through the fog with such clarity. This is what I love about Janet Frame's writing. The way she observes things is often enough for me. Her descriptions of her encounter with a cow on her 'escape' from the asylum, with the mobile library van that comes to visit, of her own tender thoughts on suffering... I felt a little more raw and empathetic reading it.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ½
Genre: Classic + Literary Fiction
Faces in the Water tackles mental illness. It is the story of Istina Mavet who is committed to a psychiatric hospital called Cliffhaven. It is about her surviving that place. Her interaction with doctors, nurses, and other patients. As readers, we have no idea about her life prior to being committed to this hospital. We just get a glimpse of her past life that she used to be a teacher and had lost her grip on reality.
This is the second novel for the author and to know that the author has gone through the same hardships as the main character in this novel is fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Janet Frame was hospitalized for being schizophrenic. The hospital officials were about to do a lobotomy for her but they stopped when they knew she won a literary award. The procedure was canceled and then she was released later.
The author must have included a lot of her own experience in this story. But we don’t know the degree that Janet represented herself in Istina. This book was difficult to read. One is because it keeps you in tension all the time as you have to go through the awful procedures these patients were going through. It will make you feel uncomfortable the least. Maybe disturbed also for knowing that mental institutions were using such kinds of therapy for the patients. The second reason is that the writing was tough. I don’t know why but my mind and focus kept drifting. I’m not sure if the subject of the writing was the reason for this or the writing itself. Overall, this was a good difficult read. I wouldn’t call it enjoyable because I don’t see anybody enjoying characters going through electroconvulsive therapy and other horrible procedures that were used at those times!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-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
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a Haunting, shocking and yet beautiful read. Frame uses language in such a beautiful way and shows you the humanity of the patients that those around them could not see. I was captivated by this at every step.
This is a very intense, train of thought, account of life in a mental hospital during the 1940-50's.
The book is beautifully written but it can be hard to follow. I also found myself doubting the narrator, especially towards the end.
I found it more meaningful than the Bell Jar. There are similarities but it doesn't cover life before or after institutionalism, only the demeaning life within and the pervading fear of the place.
I'd definitely recommend reading it.
The book is beautifully written but it can be hard to follow. I also found myself doubting the narrator, especially towards the end.
I found it more meaningful than the Bell Jar. There are similarities but it doesn't cover life before or after institutionalism, only the demeaning life within and the pervading fear of the place.
I'd definitely recommend reading it.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No