Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

29 reviews

crustymcbread's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective relaxing 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Self harm, and Medical content

taylormccoy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Cursing, Medical content, Self harm, and Sexual harassment

rachael_schamberger's review against another edition

challenging dark funny medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Cursing, Death, and Racism

lizardddd's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Racism, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Death of parent, Ableism, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Confinement, Self harm, and Body horror

akacasper24's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Panic attacks/disorders

asolis's review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I'm reading classics this month, and I came to this book as a bit of unfinished business. I think I read about 5 pages in high school and not much more. I remember thinking it was strange. 

 I wonder what I would have gotten out of it if I had read it all the way through back then. But reading it now, its richness was a pleasant surprise, and it is well-deserving of Classic status not just due to age but because of its quality. Now, I appreciate the many layers to this book, and the invitation to consider its themes of race, gender, sexuality, power, and conformity. A remarkable exploration of what it's like to be a kind of person society tries to erase. 

By reading it now, I got to connect with the PNW setting, and understand the implications of the various places mentioned. The Native narrator, albeit written by a white man, brings in some exploration of treaties, land rights, and the generational trauma of displacement. This piece is a great companion read to contextualize that aspect of the book: https://commonplace.online/article/ken-kesey-meets-lewis-and-clark/

Many summaries describe Nurse Ratched as the ultimate villain. And while she is the primary adversary, this ignores the whole point that she is only the local arm of the "combine," the societal machine that enforces conformity and compliance. If Professor Umbridge is the evil middle-aged jailer of our (millenial) generation, Nurse Ratched was her literary ancestor. But where the professor is pure evil and as such wholly unsympathetic, the cracks in the nurse's facade, the pain we know shaped her, makes her human. You may not root for her, but at least you understand her.

I felt pain when she was exposed at the end, the gendered violence, but it fit the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Self harm, Confinement, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Death

Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, Drug use, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Suicide, Cursing, Homophobia, Colonisation, Physical abuse, and Drug abuse

swimfast724's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

Another book I read in high school. I didn't exactly enjoy it, but I didn't dislike it either

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide, Body shaming, Bullying, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt

en0mad's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt

isirla's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book. This book made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me so angry. And it made me feel peaceful at times. Some parts didn't age well. But I could see past it. After seeing the movie starring a young Jack Nicholson at least three times, I knew I needed the experience the book could bring. And it didn't disappoint!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Suicide, Confinement, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Misogyny, Drug use, Racism, Death, Dementia, and Incest

lidia7's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

disappointing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Forced institutionalization, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide, Murder, Mental illness, Self harm, and Gaslighting

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Dementia, Body shaming, and Alcohol