Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

10 reviews

rochelleisreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical trauma, and Classism

Minor: Racism, Sexism, and War

jenmaysiereads's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

5 out of 5 stars 

 

It almost goes without saying but every time I read ‘The Great Gatsby’, I fall in love with it that little bit more. 

 

It’s difficult to not get drunk on the atmosphere of the narrative within ‘The Great Gatsby’. Fitzgerald effuses the novel with a magic and majesty that is truly intoxicating. Following the journey of story’s narrator; the reader can’t help but be submerged in the whimsy of this sparkling, discomforting story alongside Nick. 

 

The shimmering mirage of ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a cruel facade. Behind the glitter and glamor lies a story of discontent, obsession and the greed of man — throwing the nature of human desire into a harsh, all too revealing light. 

 

At the heart of the story is Jay Gatsby, the man who has everything. It’s impossible not to feel the same bone-deep draw that the novel’s narrator feels toward him. There is something unknowable about Gatsby — something unreal and intangible that makes him all the more desirable. Like the green light at the end of a dock. 

 

The tragedy of his loneliness, of his longing, is a knife to the heart. Gatsby is a character that wants and dreams as deeply and profoundly as any of us. It’s painful to watch as everything he has ever wanted and all he has worked for come so closely within his grasp, only for it to slip through his fingertips, drawn away by the cruelty and carelessness those he purports to love. 

 

Reading comprehension be damned; they could never make me hate you, Jay Gatsby. 

 

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter — tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning —— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

wheatlyre's review against another edition

medium-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

4.25

I will preface my review with the fact I read The Great Gatsby in a classroom setting, with a chapter-per-week pacing, as it was for an English assignment, and very little out of class reading; which I feel should be noted, as the way I interacted with and read the book was slightly different than how I would in a recreational/normal environment.
I liked The Great Gatsby quite a bit, and while I found my feelings for most of the characters to be on a spectrum of apathy to (just barely not) hatred as people, they are interesting characters, and you could find a lot of depth through speculation over them. There are a few lines and descriptions that I found quite revealing regarding the underlying feelings and motivations of some of the characters, especially

Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby (aka James Gatz), and Tom Buchanan

, but that you might normally ignore or look past.
While I did enjoy it, there were some areas that felt slightly dull or dragged out, to the point I felt I had to skip though a bit my first read through, then re-read after finishing the chapter for additional context in the later scenes.
Nick Carroway, the narrator, skips through the summer while telling the story. He keeps the timeline linear, so it could feel a bit off-putting in the moment when he would mention seemingly random events between parties and dinners with acquaintances, but the events do all have actual meaning for being there, biggest reason being to build characterization and foreshadow future reveals or events. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism

Minor: Bullying and Antisemitism

abi_04's review against another edition

slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

rachelmcg2004's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Half a star taken away from this masterpiece for the jarring and horrible racial slurs and sexism that cropped up on occasion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, War, and Classism

paigeinabook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

calamityin's review against another edition

challenging mysterious 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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Incest, Antisemitism, and Grief

rory_john14's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Hate crime, Mental illness, Antisemitism, and Toxic friendship

durrareadsstuff's review against another edition

reflective tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

I picked this up after I saw carley thornes's video about easy-to-read classics, and I agree. It's definitely one of the classics where I actually have some sort of idea of what's going on. Whether my understanding is right or wrong is a different matter. But anyway, I liked it. And it was a short book too. 

I don't really know how to analyse a classic—it seems wrong somehow haha. But I liked Nick Carraway, and the way he narrates the story. Most of the other characters—let's face it—were pretty much jerks. I guess the takeaway from this is that rich people get away with everything? 

I thought the writing was beautiful. There were some racist and sexist stuff mentioned, but the main character didn't seem to support or particularly fight it, so I'm not really sure what the book's stand is on the issues. It also captures the very sad nature of Mr Gatsby's life and his loneliness.

Overall, fun, quick, it's a good classic for someone like me, i.e. someone with a very short attention span and has a hard time understanding most things.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Sexism

Minor: Mental illness and Physical abuse

ssgcedits's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

Masterpieces shall always be masterpieces. Possibly, my favourite book of all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism and Mental illness