Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris

4 reviews

bookishbyjennaavh's review

mysterious slow-paced

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

1.25

I was deeply excited for this book but this was a major let down. If I drank everytime she used an analogy or a metaphor I would have died of alcohol poisoning. 
There was so many words and so little said! There was no plot. It was supposed to be about grief but we spent most of the time describing the taste of the horizon and our relationship with our girlfriend. This would have made more sense if it was in first person. It being in third really did a detriment to the story and the character. She was confusing and unlikable because you couldn’t understand her thinking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Vomit, and Medical trauma

archaicrobin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

A beautifully written literary horror novella tackling grief, depression, and trauma through the tale of an indigenous artist’s haunting experience at a secluded cabin near a large pond near her recently deceased father’s former land. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this one but was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this novella. If you’re looking for a literary horror novella with eerie imagery and psychological horror elements blended with creatures and malevolent nature then you’ll love this one! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Grief, Mental illness, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

wchereads's review

dark emotional sad

4.75

Being immersed in this book was a journey. There were some really dark and devastating moments but the visuals were absolutely breathtaking. The prose is beautiful and dreamlike, and the eMOTIONAL DAMAG- I mean impact is profound. For a relatively short novella, I took a lot of time reading and rereading certain passages, and wished I had a physical copy to annotate. It is a heavy but ultimately hopeful tale about accepting death as part of life, nature and self, moving on with - not from - grief, and loving oneself and life as they are. It can be a triggering read for individuals struggling with grief and suicidal ideation, but if one can take care of oneself and go through the story at their own pace, I think this book is absolutely worth anyone's time.

"It's easier to carry this understanding [of death/grief] with us as we go, to stop ignoring it and pretending it will never happen - because this pretending is part of what makes each loss devastate us so totally."

"When we lose someone, we are forced into the deeply lonely experience of disillusion alongside the terrible fact of our loss... we must instead wade every day into our understanding of death and how death creates meaning."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Body horror and Death of parent

Minor: Emotional abuse

luckylulureads's review

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Vomit