Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

10 reviews

bubblybelle's review

emotional hopeful informative 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

4.5

‘the only way to get over barriers is to live in the spirit of already being over them.’

beautiful, heartbreaking, and thought provoking story

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Chronic illness, Confinement, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcoholism

rhythmixia's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

halcyon_nights's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness

Moderate: Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Ableism

Minor: Confinement

bexi's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent and Vomit

laughingrecord's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad 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: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Ableism, Abandonment, Death, Self harm, and Medical content

diana_raquel's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

 “People’s lives never stay the same colour forever. There are times when the colour of life changes completely.” 

I really liked this story! It is a story that has a "quietness" to it, that leaves a big impact on the reader. It leaves you thinking about fresh starts, discrimination, self-acceptance, death, and grief. The story is well-structured and the characters are very well-written. I think that the ending is a little predictable, but it fits within the narrative, however, it's still a little predictable.

I do recommend this book! I wasn't sure about it but I ended up liking it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content

Moderate: Mental illness, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Death of parent

Minor: Confinement, Self harm, and War

hanreadin's review

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Infertility and War

pbpb's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

book_moth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Suicide

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Self harm, Mental illness, Infertility, Grief, Death, and Alcohol

magicshop's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.0

It’s my belief that everything in this world has its own language. We have the ability to open up our ears and minds to anything and everything. That could be someone walking down the street, or it could be the sunshine or the wind. 

the way i KNEW this shit was gonna make me cry before i even read the synopsis

you should read this book if...

• you're looking for a thoughtful exploration of japanese culture mixed in with philosophy. disclaimer: i am not japanese and could be full of shit
• you have a full pantry and are ready to crave sweets for 160 pages

the good

• the prose is simple and direct; the poetry is created in the moments and situations themselves rather than through figures of speech for the most part. it's an easy, comfortable read, which suits the story's quietly contemplative mood. of course, i can't judge sukegawa's  original text since i didn't read the book in japanese, but my impression of the translation is definitely positive.
• there were points wherein i thought the plot might take turns that would be too maudlin for my tastes, but despite the obvious emotional nature of the subject matter, sukegawa never went too far with it. like he for sure came close but not quite enough to annoy me. i'm grateful for that since it allowed me to have an overall pleasant experience without feeling overly manipulated toward any specific emotion
• the characters were all easy to like and sympathize with, but tokue obviously shone the brightest, along with dorayaki aka the actual main character
• i spent many periods of my young adult life thinking about (read: losing my shit over) solipsism and it's nice to find it here in a more welcoming and friendly shape at a time when i'm also older and more ready to think about it without fully collapsing into existential crises

the bad

• i thought the ending was a little abrupt
  but it's probably just me forgetting some crucial section of the story where the moon was of any importance?????? i cannot for the life of me remember anything like that so whoops maybe. maybe it's just a reference to tokue's night (death) finally coming????? i don't know fam

extra observations

• there are a few sections where the author dissects the sweet bean paste making process at length. this was a plus for me because i really enjoyed those descriptions (i guess i just love learning things in general), but could be a negative for some. 
• i have no idea whether any of the descriptions and information on hansen's disease were accurately portrayed, but word of the author says he did a lot of research and spoke directly to patients for a long time before writing the book so there's that

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Medical content, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm