eudaemonics's reviews
49 reviews

The Elders (Foxcraft, Book 2) by Inbali Iserles

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease by Jonathan M. Metzl

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challenging dark informative slow-paced

4.5

Metzl paints a graphic and saddening picture of the history of schizophrenia as a disease and the way the "look" of schizophrenia has evolved specifically in the United States of America.

Psychiatry has been dominated by specifically white and white male voices, and I think a shift towards intersectionality and cross-cultural understanding has only begun recently. Metzl marries his backgrounds in sociology and psychology to shed light on the way psychiatric diagnoses are not static categories, but things that are informed by their time periods and dominant cultural attitudes and will grow and change to reflect those things. Diagnoses are born from the intermingling of these factors and while psychiatry is not always a tool for social control, in the context of schizophrenia it is still used to wrongfully incarcerate black men at a disproportionate rate and feed the American prison industrial complex -- which is in itself just slavery with a new coat of paint on it.

This book does nothing to provide answers to the problem it sheds light on, but I don't think that is the intent in the first place. It does provide us with the tools, language, and context to speak out against the stigma of schizophrenia in the modern USA.

Night on the Galactic Railroad & Other Stories from Ihatov by Kenji Miyazawa

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medium-paced

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

4.0

At first I didn’t really get this story, but after sleeping on it, reading a few thoughts about it online, and thinking about the context in which it was written and published, I think I understand it a bit better…

I can’t say I agree with some of its messages

self-sacrifice is the greatest thing you can do in life
we are on earth purely to make others happy

...but I do agree with others

everyone is searching for ways to make their life fulfilling, and that looks different for everyone.
The things we cherish won’t last forever, and people or things can suddenly die or disappear but we should use our memory of them to live a full life.
Death is not some grand event but it is quiet, sudden, and happens without notice.

Night on the Galactic Railroad is definitely leaning into the Buddhist view of the afterlife and the spirit, which makes sense considering Miyazawa’s background. I found Giovanni to be a compelling character in his selfishness and reluctance to let go of Campanelli, even though their relationship felt vague and ambiguous. Much of their friendship was left to the readers' imagination. The journey Giovanni and Campanelli take on the train is almost like Dante’s journey through hell to me, but obviously in a different context and almost dealing with a heaven-like vision of the after life instead of hell and purgatory.

It was easy to tell that it was an unfinished story, there are some parts in the middle that feel out of place or unpolished, and I wonder if we would have gotten to know more about how Giovanni and Campanelli became friends. But it being written after Miyazawa lost his sister and then published posthumously makes the story make more sense.

Content Warnings

The Three Taps: A Detective Story Without a Moral by Ronald Knox

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

5.0

A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle

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dark hopeful mysterious reflective 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

A really really beautiful read. I think it was a little rough around the edges in some ways, so you could tell it was Beagle's first novel, but it really painted a vivid picture of New York from within the confines of a cemetery.

The romance in both aspects was deeply compelling for me, and I like the way Beagle depicts death in this world: a time after living where you try to hold onto life and all of its memories as tightly as you can before it disappears like a mist.

I also like that it wasn't but about death, but not being afraid to live- I felt a lot of myself in Rebeck's character. I, too, have thought of abandoning everything and running off to hide in some abandoned place for years. The way he develops from a living ghost to finding reasons to be comfortable in the real world really spoke to my heart.

Content Warnings