Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

9 reviews

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

1.0

God, this book was such a waste of my time. I only finished it because I had to read it for school. It’s god awful. It was never entirely clear what was happening, to whom, or why. Most of the dialogue and narration just repeats and repeats, which serves to clarify literally nothing. The adults fail the children at every turn, which is hugely upsetting. And while no, books don't have to have happy endings, hopeful endings, virtuous characters, or good morals, so help me, I can’t tell what lesson(s) I’m supposed to take away from the torture the characters go through at every turn. My professor told us that this is one of Faulker's more “accessible” novels, and I have to wonder how his other works can possibly be less accessible than this novel. This novel is just word salad. I wish I hadn’t been assigned this book because it’s such a slog and with no pay-off.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, Cursing, Rape, Abandonment, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Vomit, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Grief, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

gabriella_'s review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

1.0

I hated this. I skimmed the essays at the end - Doreen Fowler’s Matricide and the Mother’s Revenge: As I Lay Dying was interesting though.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Incest, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Death of parent

notlikeotheergirls_iread's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring sad medium-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Mental illness

Minor: Cursing and Terminal illness

jakobmarleymommy's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

One of the weirdest books I’ve ever read. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Vomit, Abortion, Body horror, Medical trauma, Death, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Infidelity, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Incest

kyleigh_cecelia's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.0

still thinking about dark confronting jewel. ‘whose son are you’ ‘you goddamn lying son of a bitch’  like okay then horse boy

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Racial slurs and Sexual content

lydvos's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

0.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, Death, Death of parent, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual assault

cnohero's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

4.0

 Wow, this was a very impactful book for me. The characters felt so real and there is so much bottled up emotion in them. I really had a hard time putting it down.
I liked how the characters were strong and overcame major adversity but it also seems so senseless. A part of me rages and their poor choices and a part of me weeps for their pain and hardships.
This book could certainly be disturbing from many readers. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Grief

Moderate: Death, Rape, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Gore

Minor: Body horror, Sexism, and Abortion

b_caligari's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Terminal illness

Minor: Abortion, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

dustandstarlight's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Ableism, Medical content, and Racial slurs

Minor: Abortion, Rape, and Sexual assault