Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

10 reviews

fuzzygazelle's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Such a beautiful and timely book. I knew it was going to make me cry once I started getting attached to the characters but I didn't think i would ugly sob. But everyone is so lovable, the character progression of the Huberman family, Liesel and Rudy's growths, Liesel's relationship with everyone. It's funny at times and it's light-hearted when we are just seeing their lives and it makes it real. The narration is also really nice and unique and Death's propensity to spoil things just makes it even more tense. It's so beautifully tragic and sad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, War, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Suicide, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Genocide, Death, Child death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, Death of parent, and Hate crime

Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Slavery, Bullying, and Gore

Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol

julesadventurezone's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Deportation, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Death, Child death, Sexism, and War

Moderate: Car accident, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Bullying, Medical content, Misogyny, Racism, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

theonlybaillie's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Violence, War, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Bullying and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Suicide

Pretty much TW for everything and anything.

cathwolfiereads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Murder, Racial slurs, War, Death, and Grief

burnt_amber89's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Although it was hard to read through the tears (especially towards the end), this was a wonderful experience. I absolutely adored all the characters, and reading this while the war in Ukraine just broke out made it all the much more poignant. It really makes the reader understand the effects of war on regular civilians, on kids, on families that just want to make the best of a dire situation, even on the side of the agressor. The innocence of Liesel only emphasizes on the absurdity, pointlessness, and incomprehensibility of war. The figure of Papa brings warmth, justice and humanity to the worst possible situation. Every single relationship Liesel forms with the other characters bring something unique and precious to the discourse, and the tale is told in such a spectacular way that I could barely put the book down. 
The poetry of the text is incredible, it is so poignant, and yet extremely accessible. The fact that we know from the very beginning that the ending will be terrible doesn't make it any less dramatic, which is the sign that the book is beautifully written and that the characters are particularly believable. I honestly felt something akin to grieving at the end, and even several times throughout the book. 

I had seen the movie prior, and even though I loved it, I can honestly and easily say that the book is far superior, in the sense that words convey so much more meaning than simply images. Words are actually almost a character in their sense, and they play an important role in the story, that I don't think I grasped while watching the movie. 

In the book, you get to know the characters intimately, spend a lot of time with them, accompany them through some life-changing events in a way that is even more touching than in the film. The little details, the mundane observations, the everyday poetry really had an effect on me. It gripped me from the very first sentences to the very last ones, and my throat still aches now that I think about it again a few days after I finished this wonderful book. As far as I'm concerned, it's an easy 5*.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, War, Genocide, Violence, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Cursing, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

sarah_onyxartemis's review

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicide, Violence, and War

Moderate: Abandonment, Gore, Genocide, Murder, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Bullying, Blood, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

literally_mint's review

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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: Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Child death, Death of parent, War, Antisemitism, Bullying, Cursing, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Police brutality, Suicide, and Violence

rosaschaos'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, War, and Mental illness

imcharlottek's review

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-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? N/A

5.0

I can comfortably give this book 5 stars. It’s not an easy read, but I think it should be an essential one. The themes and characters explored in the book thief, along with its unique narration style, creates an atmosphere unlike any other I have experienced. To date it is one of, if not, my favourite book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, and Mental illness

madelonpaige's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism

Moderate: Suicide and Mental illness