Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Boy Parts by Eliza Clark

230 reviews

tayo2000's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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

5.0

I loved this. 

Boy Parts is a thoroughly engrossing (and gruesome? Brutal? Unhinged??) exploration of gender and sexuality. The power of men over women looked at through the lens of a female protagonist (antagonist?) flipping the narrative on its head. I think I will certainly need some more time to fully digest this and sort my thoughts. Rest assured though this is a five star read. 

Irina is also a sociopath, but that’s a conversation for another time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, and Drug use

Moderate: Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Self harm, Sexual content, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse

houseofjules's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

I liked this book, it made me realize that I find stories about fucked up women fascinating. 

It also made me realize that this is what My Year of Rest and Relaxation wants to be and falls drastically short. I have also seen this compared to American Psycho but for girls. And you know what, I liked that story as well (I've only watched it, not read it). 

I think this says something bad about me, just not sure what. But I think this is a successful story because of the commentary rather than the behavior displayed by the MC. I mean, girlfriend needs therapy BAD. But her support system failed her from the beginning, starting with her relationship with her mother and the things she goes on to experience in her early years.

 This is pretty privilege at play as well, which allows her to get away with lots of things. In fact its the main question she tried to find an answer to. This book feel like running your tongue over a recently extracted tooth. Painful, horrifying even, but hard to stop exploring. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Bullying, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Body shaming, Torture, Violence, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Self harm, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

swagboat69's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Blood, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Murder, Rape, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Violence

documentno_is's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I went into Boy Parts largely blind and was better for it, the shock factor and depravity of the slow unveiling of the nature of our protagonist was more impactful than had I known what to expect. I hated every moment of being in this character's head and yet grapple with

the ways in which she can be both predator and victim.  Our main character is a master of manipulation and drowning in her own narcissism yet we see the multitude of ways she is failed by those around her, fueling her perversions.

In many ways reading this novel felt unbearable, both in the situations conjured up and the thought processes we are made privy to. This book felt cutting and revolting in the same ways

Lolita does

. My only complaint was the plot post London visit, for as shocking and fast paced as it was for the first 4/5ths of the story it puttered out

rather ungracefully to an unsatisfying ending of repetitions as is common of unveiling your central underlying "secret" too early on. We are left in liminal space of not knowing how much of our character's recollection is psychosis and how much is sociopathy, undoing much of the suspense of earlier on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Drug use, Death, Biphobia, Sexual violence, Blood, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Alcoholism, Vomit, Rape, Violence, Torture, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Abandonment

hjb_128's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Violence, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Pedophilia, Self harm, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Torture, Cursing, Body horror, Blood, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Animal death

Moderate: Biphobia, Fatphobia, and Classism

begumisu's review

dark sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Blood, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

isaarusilor'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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Body horror, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Vomit, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

I found this compulsively readable and incredibly dark.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Rape, Child death, Self harm, Medical content, Violence, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Murder, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Grief, Excrement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Body shaming, Blood, and Animal death

astraea93's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

Eliza Clark is a strong writer, one who will leave a mark on anyone that reads her works. She may be the best author I've come across in years. I'm giving this a 4.5 because the story itself was so horrific that I can't say I enjoyed it, merely I strongly respected the way Clark depicted the growing insanity of the main character. This book is not for the faint of heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Sexual violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Death, Violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Drug abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Death, and Body shaming

Minor: Racism

editorgrrl's review against another edition

challenging dark funny sad tense fast-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

4.0

Irina (or did her mam name her “Irene”?) is a painfully thin female bisexual Patrick Bateman (complete with business cards and cleaning products) from Northern England.

An unreliable narrator, she drops names, watches ultra violent films, and wishes she were a stone cold bitch rather than a plumber’s daughter who’s only working part time at a seedy bar so that her mam will continue to pay half her rent.

If you hate unlikable characters, this is not the book for you. I found it darkly humorous, and a little sad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, and Self harm

Minor: Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal cruelty