Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks

7 reviews

potassiumk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

cloranger's review against another edition

dark hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Abortion

bree_of_the_woods's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Suicide, Torture, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Infertility, Mental illness, Sexual content, Vomit, and Murder

minniepauline's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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

4.5

This is a fascinating exploration of how fear changes people and societies. It’s prescient, too. Written in 2001, it’s an apt book for our own times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

melissamalicious's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Medical content, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

amandareads23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Blood, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

cptnstphy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Brooks' prose was gorgeous and brought the reader along as if they were right there in the village, such that it was like watching a film (if not for all the grisly and demonic details, I would want to see this film). Despite the reader knowing how the book would generally end (most villagers dead of the plague) she still manages to create suspense and craft a twist ending none could have predicted (in a dazzling, exciting, and satisfying way, in my opinion). The characters were well-crafted, some with unexpected nuance, although our hero was perhaps too Good and without many interesting flaws. Year of Wonders gripped me from beginning to end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Infertility, Sexual content, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Rape and Slavery