A review by inhisbluegardens
Dora: A Headcase by Lidia Yuknavitch

challenging emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 Wow, this was an absolute riot of a book. Based on Freud's case study of his patient "Dora", who suffered from aphonia, this retells the analysis from the point of view of a modern-day troubled teenage girl. She is outrageous, impulsive and traumatised, trying to understand her world and what she wants out of it. Ida/Dora is someone on the cusp of adulthood but still with such a warped sense of who and what she is, as if looking at herself in a fun house mirror. Her inability to articulate this mental anguish she experiences, even through her art, renders her voiceless. This book deals with so much and still manages to pack a punch: art, film, self-harm, female adolescent rage, loss of identity, female sexuality and mental illness. Ida/Dora's voice is certainly a singular one. I raced through this excellent, excellent novel. I'll leave you with a quote I enjoyed:

I don't know why but standing there in the breath of her sentence makes me feel like I'm real. I wonder if that's what love is.