Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

8 reviews

cjrapata's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Reading a book set during the 50s written in 1961 can still cause me to reflect on my own life in 2024. I was impressed not only with the themes of the fallacy of the American dream, but even more so with the rawness and specificity of the American marriage, this almost pitiful view that Yates portrays of marriage being lonely, sad, unfullfilling. He writes Frank Wheeler so well, as this man you can completely agree would exist in real life, who thinks so highly of himself yet is deeply emotional and insecure. It’s such modern writing for its time. Yates shows that we are too hungry for the peace and certainty of the suburban nuclear family (however fake it is) that we will abandon the most truthful parts of ourselves to attain it, but we can also expect to remain restless and unsatisfied in any circumstance. A truly harrowing read. I’m awestruck. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

sp00kyx's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book made me feel physically sick. Just writing this makes me feel anxious and makes me shake. When I finished it all I wanted to do was to cry, but I couldn’t I just sat there, shaking and feeling nauseous. If you compare the movie to the book, the movie was literally a children’s movie in comparison to the book. The book was so well written and was really immersive. I loved seeing Frank’s thoughts and emotions behind the scenes I had seen in the movie, though I would have loved to have seen April’s point of view as well. Frank was an even bigger asshole than he was in the movie and I felt for April even more. Watching their relationship fall apart with each page was so unnerving (the plan to move to Paris being way less prominent than it was in the movie) and the ending broke my heart into a million pieces. I knew what was coming, but I spent so much time with the characters, especially April and to read what happened to her honestly hurt so bad. It was also so much more descriptive and the aftermath was described so much more vividly, exasperating the pain I felt. By the end all I wanted to do was to scream and cry and punch a wall. I have so many emotions inside of me right now I can’t even put it into words.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Abandonment, and Alcohol

aboo99's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness and Abortion

garyosu's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol

wondering_hannah88's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Abortion

mondovertigo's review against another edition

emotional 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse and War

gabedon's review against another edition

dark tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, and Alcohol

Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

lucyembers's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

5.0

My other favourite piece of fiction. An introspective look into marriage, societal ideals and the position of women in the 1950s. Depicts the frustrations of suburban life in a gritty and honest way- these characters are easily empathised with, even if their actions could be questioned from a moral perspective. Read if you enjoy something that is turbulent, yet set against the mundane nature of married life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship