Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

My Heavenly Favourite by Lucas Rijneveld

7 reviews

dizzzybrook's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I thought this book was absolutely phenomenal. Rijneveld is such an incredibly unique author that without a doubt is certainly not for everyone. Much like his previous work, The Discomfort of Evening, this book is extremely polarizing in that the topics it tackles are not for the faint of heart. I am obsessed with Rijneveld’s writing style and would at this point consider him one of my favorite authors. For those who enjoy transgressive literature, I would highly recommend this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Mental illness, Vomit, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Blood, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Self harm

_charliesbooks_'s review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Incredibly disturbing but beautifully written 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, and Toxic friendship

razmatesz's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape

seaoftranquility's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I read "The discomfort of evening" in 2021 and absolutely loved it from its very first page. Having this in mind, I started this book immediately after it was gifted to me. With this one, however, it took me much more time to get into the story. I reached the point of DNFing twice, my main problem being the writing style. Although I am a huge fan of stream of consciousness and I don't mind feverish, nightmarish prose, I found that this book exhausted my brain, mainly in the first half. The sentences were way too long (I was longing for a full stop many times while reading) and the lack of paragraphs tired my eyes. I kept forgetting where the narrator started from and I caught myself wondering what this (incoherent mumbling of the narrator) had anything to do with the story. Maybe it was intentional by the writer, so as to drag the reader in this incoherent, fragmented, unreliable, sick mind. Well, they most definitely succeeded; the book was disgusting and exhausting and I know I will never touch it again. The main character of the book is not the sick pervert that holds the narration; it is the victim, this nameless girl who, already suffering from grief, abandonment and neglect, is failed by every single adult in their life. I was furious

about how she was treated, the names she was called, how she was blamed for what happened to her, how she was the one to hold the blame, the innocent, broken, underage child for f*** sake. I was so angry that so many people eventually knew about what she was going through and no-one, and I mean that, NO-ONE picked up the f***ing phone to call the police. The writer did a pretty good job portraying the child's pain of loneliness and neglect, the longing for love and freedom from pain, as well as the child rapist's petting methods and the devastating effects the sexual abuse had on the girl. It was also interesting and thought-provoking that the writer chose this age for the child and not a younger one as in Nabokov's Lolita.

Overall 4/5 stars; in spite of the book's difficulty (theme and writing style), I loved and empathized with this little bird- I wish her wings will be healed and take her away from pain. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Stalking, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Blood, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death, Animal death, Self harm, Abandonment, Grief, Mental illness, and Eating disorder

judythedreamer's review against another edition

So glad the course changed up which book we have to read. The fact that there's no paragraphs at all, made it hard to read. The subject matter itself was quite tough and I disliked all the veterinary terminology being used to explain his pedophilic interests.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual content, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Excrement, Death, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

sophievd'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

mmic's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Een prachtig, vreselijk, meeslepend en moeilijk boek.

De schrijfstijl is fantastisch, maar het verhaal is misselijkmakend--opzettelijk zo. Ik wilde het snel uithebben omdat de schrijfstijl erom vraagt om halsoverkop gelezen te worden, maar ik haastte ook door omdat ik wilde dat het verhaal voorbij was, omdat ik de weerzinwekkende gedachten van de hoofdpersoon niet langer aan kon. 

Absoluut geen prettig of makkelijk boek, maar wel meesterlijk gedaan. Het maakt me nieuwsgierig naar wat Rijneveld nog meer gaat schrijven. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship