Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

189 reviews

mangonana's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicide, Medical content, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content

the_reading_italian's review against another edition

It was extremely sad. I loved the idea but I just wasn't ready for the reality of it and didn't love the unreliable narration.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide

hjb_128's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Mental illness and Racism

_readrateandrepeat's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

clazbog's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

junglejelly's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

An interesting read given it's considered a classic. But I'm really not sure how I feel about the book, a few weeks on.

I did enjoy that the writing captured the thoughts and feelings of (stereotypical) teenage boys, and how the reader can question

the reliability of the narrator

.

While I did enjoy the writing, the plot and characters fell short in comparison. I do think it's a classic in the context of the publication date and I wonder what the impact would be in today's society.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Emotional abuse and Stalking

sundaybookclub's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Car accident

zajedenwiersz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

em_h_ma's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

2.5

The five Lisbon girls are the treasures of their town. They fascinate young boys and their tale survives even after they killed themselves. I have no idea what I just read or what the conclusion of the book is. It is a strange and mysterious story filled with trauma.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book kept me on the edge of the seat and was very mysterious giving nothing away even at the end. It has a great commentary on American culture including purity culture, religion, and girlhood all experienced through the voyeuristic lens of the male gaze, specifically teenage boys. How they viewed the Lisbon girls and their inability to truly see them or want to actively help them had my skin crawling which  is the point. The Lisbon girls exist on page only as two dimensional characters who, unbeknownst to the boys, are crying out for help. However these nuances play out do subtly on the page that only a true understanding of the Lisbon girls can be understood if you were, at  one point, a Lisbon girl. After reading I scoured the internet for essays, videos, and fanfics that were able to put my scrambled and shocked thoughts into a concise narrative but I have only found small pieces spread throughout it. If you were a big English Literature kid who loves to look for the deeper meanings this book is for you. A point was taken off for unnecessary racism and racial slurs which took me out of the story immensely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Religious bigotry