Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Il mio anno di riposo e oblio by Gioia Guerzoni, Ottessa Moshfegh

126 reviews

samarakroeger's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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? Yes

1.5

let the record show that I HATED this book.  And I generally like plotless books about sad, somewhat unlikeable women in their 20s...

This book was such a slog to get through, especially the middle.  It truly put me to sleep better than any of the myriad of sleeping pills featured in (and weirdly endorsed by) this book and put me in a reading slump.  

I got the sense that Ottessa Moshfegh was trying to make this book as provocative as possible (which it definitely was, I just don't really vibe with that approach).  The casual racism, ableism, sexism, and homophobia served no purpose except to solidify my intense dislike for both Moshfegh and our vile, unfeeling narrator.  I've never read a book before where I hated every single character with every fiber of my being.  Reva did deserve a better friend despite her personal flaws.

The reason I gave this 1.5 stars instead of 1 is because Dr. Tuttle is so ridiculous and unhinged she became funny to me - i.e. "I've heard from several esteemed colleagues in Brazil that regular Infermiterol use can activate a profound tectonic displacement.  Followed up with some filigree work using low doses of aspirin and astral projecting, it's proven to be quite effective in curing solipsistic terror...".  After slogging through the 70 page middle chapter (ugh), the last two real chapters (can't count that cheap last paragraph) were alright (in comparison).

This was so incredibly privileged and pretentious and filled with so many triggers for mental illness I have no idea why people liked this book.  I was even more disappointed in this book due to all the positive hype I'd seen about it, so I'd definitely recommend reading the trigger warnings and thinking about why you want to read this absurd, pointless book before you pick it up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Medical content, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy

shampainprblmz's review against another edition

dark relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

mrnltt's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

marinarc's review against another edition

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

agent_of_chaos's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

mia_asc's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

hreads03's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cursing and Panic attacks/disorders

via_'s review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-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

5.0

Eu genuinamente achei, antes de ler, que esse livro seria ruim. Eu pensei: Por que eu quero ler os choramingos de uma menina rica, bonita e atormentada que decide se excluir do mundo pra sentir que os problemas acabaram? Parecia grosseiro, uma pessoa com tudo na palma da mão que mesmo assim não tem nada, parecia real demais. Eu tava felizmente errada! Esse livro foi tudo: caótico, triste, cômico, amoroso, doloroso... Primeiro que, de fato, nunca se sabe a historia de alguém 100% (Valentina, não julgue livros pela capa KKKK), segundo que mesmo com a ideia incomum que ele oferece, ele é real, completo, crível até! Detalhe que eu amei a amarra da história da Narradora com a época histórica em que se passa: Não acho que podia ter sudo um uso melhor da realidade e o final como culminação das duas coisas foi simplesmente genial. Eu amei !!! Não me sinto a mesma pessoa que eu era quando eu comecei a ler esse livro, mas isso seria uma coisa ridiculamente igual à uma baboseira da Reva da minha parte de dizer (então finge que eu não disse - é meio verdade). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

janeaustenlobbyist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-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

5.0

I rarely give any books a full 5 stars, but this was genuinely one of the best books I’ve ever read. The experience and perspective felt so real and not at all forced. It was very emotional and actually confronted them, and the writing style was so. like I don’t have words for it. The character is absolutely DETESTABLE but in the absolute best way possible. She’s a flawed gal, but what can I say. She’s just like me. I believe she is canonically a Gemini. Which is so obvious. 

This is a hugely important piece of writing and it’s so hilarious but in an intensely depressing way! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual content and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual violence and Toxic friendship

MAJOR themes of substance abuse, mental illness, addiction & briefly mentioned SA experiences!!

belfrybatz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

so dark so deeply disturbing yet morbidly comforting, it's awesome. there are definitely some issues I have with it being so far in a satirical direction it is almost condescending to the audience, not to mention the main character's consistent fatphobia. however, I still enjoyed reading it and seeing the world thru the perspective of someone truly terrible is something i find very intriguing in books. not everyone needs to be a hero this isn't YA lol

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent