Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Wierzyliśmy jak nikt by Rebecca Makkai

7 reviews

theloosepage's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? No

5.0

I loved this book so much. At times it was difficult to read, but I think that's a testament to how well-written and fully-realized the characters were, especially Yale. I adored him and just wanted him to be happy, healthy, and loved. This book built tension in a really organic way and felt true-to-life. I appreciate that it managed to be emotional and touching without tipping over into the melodramatic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Terminal illness

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Mental illness

awildeasriel's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Toxic friendship

hstcrow's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Another one to add to the list of “books that made me cry”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal cruelty and Injury/Injury detail

christinereads1823's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Deep and thought-provoking, Makkai's writing is evocative and painfully stark. The Great Believers is a story of love, loss, friendship, trauma, and healing, and it is so important for everyone to read and process.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ariana3's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

This took me longer to read than I wanted it to, it was longer than I think it should have been. It basically describes the AIDS epidemic in Chicago in the early 80s from the general viewpoint of 1 main character

(who eventually gets it from a casual fling- after being so careful with his then-longtime bf who cheated, got it, and thought he got it from him but didn't-and ultimately dies).

It alternates chapter-by-chapter with that and one of their female friends in the future in 2015.

Her brother was one of the first in this friend group to die, so she was always around these men. In the future, she's trying to find her estranged daughter and make amends. It ends a little bittersweet, as Yale (the main character) does indeed die and it describes his slow-ish decline. But Fiona (the girl) finds her daughter and they seem to slowly be repairing/building back their relationship

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, and Abandonment

sestout's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Violence, Police brutality, War, and Injury/Injury detail

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad slow-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? Yes

5.0

i thought this was just phenomenal. both storylines interested me and i felt so so much for the characters. this broke my heart but also put it together. this was devastating but beautiful.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism