Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo

14 reviews

b_easelbub's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Outing, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Racism, and Transphobia

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Transphobia, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, and War

junglejelly's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-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

3.0

I'm really not sure how I feel about this book. On one hand, the writing is gripping, engaging and beautiful. On the other hand, the characters are quite unlikeable, almost to the point I stopped reading.

One thing for sure is these characters are complex and their actions and thoughts are incredibly relatable.

The downsides of the book is that it's filled with a lot of phobic language (which I understand why), unlikeable characters and the ending could have been a bit longer. The ending felt a bit rushed and cliche as the characters did not reflect on their own flaws and still had

happy endings, except maybe Barry

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Minor: Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Abandonment

partly_stars's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.0

It's a good book. Not something I woukd picked up by meslef so thanks to my book club for making me read outside of my comfort zone.
It's an interesting portrait of the a dysfunctional marriage of a certain generation of Carrabiean migrants. Both Barry and Carmel are so bad for each other and often times just unplesant people but atcthe same time the author treats tgem with kindness and humanity to see where they are coming from
Wvery character is distinct and feels so grounded in their experiences that is so different to what I know. Evaristo does a great job of showing how people are shaped by life and how there are both good and bad thing  in them without falling into stereotypes or clichés 
The beggining of the novel was quite chellenging for me - it was often times unplesan read. Bad things about Barry and Carmel just getting worse as they are in their toxic marriage - it feels like a contras  to the end of the book that starts feeling liek a breath of fresh air after years of simmwring in the same stiffling atmosphere. The novel is also written in what I'm assuming is Black/Carrabian vernacular which I was unfamiliar with and since English is my seco d langauge, was a bit of a learning curve but it gives the narration an unique and personal feel. 
The whole novel feels very groudbed in the experiences of certain generation and type of people and tackles a lot of topics very gracefully and in an organic way
I also liked that we had chapters from both Barry's and Carmel's perspective even if Barry is the protahonist. I also liked how different the writing style in Carmel's chapters is. It feels very personal to her and completely dofferent to Barrys which fits well with themes of this novel
Anyway its 5am and ive been reading it the whole night after getting tobthe part when everything started falling down and changing so they could get out of their 50 years long status quo by the end
Very flawed charcaters but also compelling and i sympathised with them while also seeing and calling out thwir flaws. Feel very human

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

moniipeters's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Colonisation

novella42's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Dementia

masha_and_the_cat's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

If he were a real person, Barry would be absolutely insufferable - a conservative, a landlord, a homophobe and transphobe, someone happy to uphold a harmful status quo as long as they benefit from it. And yet, Ms Evaristo tells his story with such warmth and humour I couldn't help but be drawn into his world and cheer him on his journey towards self-acceptance.
The writing flows like honey, and the complexities of issues from internalised homophobia to post-natal depression are handled with grace and compassion. 
This is also the first book I've ever read with a protagonist from Antigua and Barbuda, and I really appreciated the insight into this rich, vibrant culture.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Hate crime, Incest, Sexual content, Murder, and Pregnancy

samixox's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.75

As a Black queer girl who is struggling with the idea of ever coming out to my homophobic family this book was what I needed. It is the story of an Antiguan gay man learning to accept his own sexuality while constantly being surrounded by (sometime  also internalised) homophobia while he learns to see the good in people. He's no saint and doesn't pretend to be. Reading it made me feel like I was in London. This is his story of still daring to be brave while being only human.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Racism, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, and Classism

zombiezami's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was fantastic: beautifully written with complex characters. I found myself liking Barry in spite of myself. His attitudes rubbed me the wrong way and often reminded me of male family members whom I find exhausting. Even so, I found myself very entertained by him and feeling compassion for him as a human. I thought he was excellent as an untrustworthy narrator.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Alcohol

Moderate: Eating disorder, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Slavery, Police brutality, and Colonisation

ageism

peachmoni's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Self harm, Transphobia, and Death of parent