Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

9 reviews

juliabristow's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

I used to be a MASSIVE pat conroy fan, but unfortunately this one did not hit for me. I can't tell whether that's just because I've grown and have different tastes, or I just happened to read his best books first, or a mix of both. I think where he really shines is when he writes about the imagery of the south, and that just wasn't super present in this book. 

This was an interesting story, and was worth it to pass the time, but not much more than that. Much of the book doesn't appear to add much to the story - there are loads and loads of childhood stories and background that could have been cut. A handful would be acceptable for character development and context, but that line was crossed at at least the 50% mark.

There are parts where it kind of gives white-saviorism which I definitely already knew about the author, but now that I'm older was much more noticeable and much more cringy. I listened to this on audiobook and I just simply don't think we need to be making white narrators say the n-word regardless of the context. They also could have put slightly more effort into finding a narrator that actually had a southern accent instead of whatever atrocity that was

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Death, Incest, Infidelity, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and War

jdrummond's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Classism

emklacik's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and War

ap1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense

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

4.0

This audiobook definitely won't be for everyone. It's fairly melodramatic and resembles a soap opera the further in you go. But it was difficult to stop listening to, partly because the narration performed it as a series of run-on sentences (which was actually a good choice a lot of the time). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

shannonm306's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

After reading Prince of Tides I can’t wait to watch the movie. This was a beautiful sad story. Conroy wrote a realistic description of mental health and how trauma manifests in different people. Tom is an adoring brother who loves his sister very much and there’s evidence throughout the story that all he wants to do his help her, but isn’t sure how. The ending was unexpected, but still very well written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, and Cancer

kpitsker's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Antisemitism, and Suicide attempt

martinelecorff's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

although some of the themes did not age well, this book is magnificent. i will carry its story and characters with me for a long long time

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

brokensporty's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This is Conroy at his best, but this book is not for the faint of heart or easily offended. It has some very powerful scenes (child abuse, rape, sodomy, murder, racism and integration of schools, mental illness, etc) that need to be taken in context. 

The blatant racism is included because it was a part of the time period the Wingo kids grew up in. Tom's early wanting to just ignore it and go along with his peers is exactly how things go down every day. That's what teenagers do. They try to fit in. Savannah is also representative of some teens. She stands up for what she knows is right no matter the consequences.

The graphic portrayal of the rape ties in to the coping mechanisms of different people. While I believe that Savannah's mental illness is hereditary, I also believe the events in her early life led directly to her dissociation and suicide attempts. Tom's way of dealing with being forcibly sodomized is far different from his sister's.

This is a beautifully written Southern story about family connections, abuse, mental illness, the power of the past, the power of forgiveness, and moving on. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to read Conroy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

misskeesa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood