Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The House of the Seven Gables Illustrated by Nathaniel Hawthorne

6 reviews

cepbreed's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.0

Thank god I can finally say I have finished this book. Poor Nathaniel Hawthorne because the way in which I had to read this did not afford him much grace. I rushed through the entire book in complete boredom in order to be able to write a final essay with as much competence as possible. My paper is on generational trauma ruining the concept of "home" for the characters and I arduously underlined every quote that could help my cause. That work definitely sucked much of the enjoyment out of the reading process. Even though I rushed through this whole novel there were moments I liked.

Holgrave and Phoebe falling in love was a surprising but adorable addition to the narrative and the moments after Judge Pyncheon's death were so well done.

Hawthorne doesn't get enough credit for being able to paint a scene like he does for the fictional palace he imagines for men like the Judge. Though I don't remember it well I have read The Scarlet Letter and I liked this more than that. Take that opinion with a grain of salt though because I read that book as an underclassmen in high school and back then I had very little tolerance for the classics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Classism

Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Blood and Forced institutionalization

whisper88's review against another edition

relaxing slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Racial slurs, Mental illness, and Blood

feeling_myshelf's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Misogyny, Colonisation, Classism, Racism, Blood, Sexism, Mental illness, Slavery, and Death

jessiecat's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Confinement

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Racial slurs

Minor: Misogyny

dawntin's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-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

2.5

I liked the book’s message of breaking away from generational curses and trauma. The characters are all distinct and their lives are mildly magical. This book would have been more interesting though if it wasn’t for the super long-winded descriptions. There was too much telling instead of showing, and it made it difficult to keep track of what was important.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Confinement and Mental illness

novelyon's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Confinement, and Mental illness

Moderate: Blood, Classism, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Murder