Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Notte americana by Marisha Pessl

18 reviews

ja_mehess's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

captmorgan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-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

This book was truly a masterpiece. This book was art. At no point did I know what was going to happen, & I loved it. Perfect for spooky season, but also just perfect. Very fast paced, only got bored around the 95% mark but then oh boy did it pick back up again. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicide

batcaves's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

auntiejamie's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.0

A cruel book full of Boomer logic and pearl-clutching. Tediously long and overbearing; the story, the places, and it's characters are not nearly as interesting as to justify this toilet paper scroll that is hellbent on telling you just what's wrong with "today's generation."

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Violence

jlk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, and Blood

ashtheaudiomancer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This has been on my TBR shelf for awhile, but I moved it to the top of the list on a recommendation. It's fascinating! I like the unusual formatting and inclusion of blog posts, photos, police reports, and other tidbits that make the world feel really fleshed out and real.

I'm not sure what else to say about it because almost everything is a spoiler. It's a murder mystery . . . kind of. It's an exploration of the depths of conspiracy theories and cult-like followings that get attached to certain celebrities . . . kind of. It's a deconstruction of the typical private investigator character type . . . kind of.

It's a thick and challenging read, and leaves things a little ambiguous, and a little meta, at the end, but the time commitment is worth it. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, and Suicide

Minor: Child death

A central theme in this story follows plot beats and details from a fictional filmmaker whose work (to me) sounds similar to the Gialli. So there's a lot of descriptions of (again fictional) films with similar levels of gore and violence.

cheerfulcusp's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, and Suicide

coffeespooncait's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Transphobia, and Xenophobia

amichreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, and Gaslighting

mxpringle's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

My opinions on this book are very complicated. At the beginning, I loved the format of the story and the plot had me on the edge of my seat. I think the way that Pessl crafted this story was truly masterful in that the reader is never quite sure what the reality is. However, as the book went on, I began to become frustrated with how it felt like nothing had really been uncovered in the investigation that was occurring in the book. I felt like I was being led on. In addition, so much of the book was filled with racism, sexism, and transphobia all perpetrated by the protagonist, whose authority on these matters was never questioned. As a trans person, the demonization of trans women in horror for a simple "creep factor" is getting very archaic, and Pessl's use of that trope disgusted me. In addition, the bizarre and unnecessary romance between the middle aged protagonist and his teenage assistant left me feeling slimy and uncomfortable.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Trafficking, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Mental illness and Medical content