Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

9 reviews

francesnah's review against another edition

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

4.25

Pretty fantastic. There are some dense conversations about mathematics or philosophy that can be hard to follow but overall it’s a great conversation that is actually way funnier than people give it credit for. 

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cameronboogieman's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny informative mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Truly an interesting and philosophical book. More so as it went along. Lots of really interesting concepts and topics brought up and explored. 
It’s a unique type of book, written completely in dialogue between two characters: an unstable math genius and her psychiatrist/therapist (idk the correct term) at a mental hospital she checks herself into. 
Did I fully understand everything they(she) talked about? No probably not. But I do actually think I got most of it and McCarthy did a good job of making, the math stuff especially, fairly accessible. Inchresting

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emmonsannae's review

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

4.0

This is a great companion novel to The Passenger—probably not as great of a standalone (which is fine, that isn’t its purpose). It was neat to get to know Alicia as a person on her own terms but man those terms are bleak. Definitely some extremely not-fun moments. I’d recommend this book but not to anyone with an intense fear of drowning. Or any of the other 18 content warnings. 

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knorkemann's review against another edition

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

5.0


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christiek's review

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

Pretty sure most of this went over my head, but I somehow still enjoyed the reading experience. I have no idea why I hung with it and read the whole thing. I guess I found it interesting. 

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michaelkurt's review against another edition

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

4.75


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gmjohnson's review against another edition

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

3.5

Don’t think I would have enjoyed as much if I didn’t have a background in science

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dee_dreams's review

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challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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marywahlmeierbracciano's review

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challenging dark medium-paced

4.0

Cormac McCarthy’s coda to The Passenger—a prequel chronologically—is presented in a form that feels refreshingly different from yet fully in-step with that of its predecessor.  This book is a transcript of Alicia’s sessions with her psychiatrist during her final stay at Stella Maris.  They talk about mathematics, and the unconscious, and the atomic bomb, and her brother.  It could be that I’ve simply had more time to sit with it now, but I think Stella Maris has helped me understand The Passenger much better than I had hoped to understand it upon turning its final page.  And it certainly makes it all the more tragic.  If you read The Passenger, don’t skip dessert. 

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