Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

3 reviews

alexisgarcia's review

dark emotional informative sad slow-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 thought this was just phenomenal. both storylines interested me and i felt so so much for the characters. this broke my heart but also put it together. this was devastating but beautiful.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Classism, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Grief, Violence, Vomit, Cursing, Hate crime, Death, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexual content, Addiction, and Alcoholism

cady_sass's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I am absolutely floored that there aren’t more people (at least in my universe) talking about this book. I am in AWE. What a stunningly heartbreaking story. I loved every part of this, even the parts that brought tears to my eyes. It will weigh on your heart, on your soul, and live in your mind. When I wasn’t reading all i wanted to do was pick it back up. Even though it’s an inherently sad story, and you know that no matter what it’s going to be sad at the end, you still kind of hope for the happy ending you know you won’t get. There are what feels like a million characters and somehow I cared about all of them, even the ones I hated. Everyone in world should read this and I hope it gets the attention it deserves.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Terminal illness, Death, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Bullying, Alcoholism, Classism, Homophobia, Blood, Chronic illness, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

burnyayhayley's review

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I was very prepared to give this 4 stars, even 3 stars. The build is very slow, slower than I usually like. There are a lot of secondary characters, which at times became confusing. Some little things that would have been simple to explain were left untied (but this is actually not a big issue for me, just a frustration). 
Maybe this story hits too close to home, having lost someone myself who lived through this era and watched many friends die from AIDS. Perhaps I am also just a sap. But this book made me SOB. 
I was WEEPING. There are not many surprises in this book, just by the nature of the story, but there was a true and tangible depth of pain and power in the way these men are represented, and how they in turn represent an entire generation of lost queer people. It is clear that there was a wealth of respect held for this cast of characters and who they represented. 
Also, sometimes it takes a really beautiful, terribly sad and horribly accurate book to remind you how very important the little things in our lives are. How much we should be trying our hardest to hold onto each other and experiences of joy and all the weird fleeting magic of life. Because even when things are so shitty and we are sad and it feels like as soon as you get up there is something else beating you back down, there will still be something handing you a sliver of hope. And that will lend it all some beauty. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Gaslighting, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Infidelity

Minor: Toxic relationship and Suicide