Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

6 reviews

sjwheeler's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

One of my favourite books of all time. I read it in university and I have been moved by it ever since. I never saw the movie adaptation, I didn't want to ruin it. It's a must read in my opinion and may just change your entire faith or philosophy. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Violence, and Grief

ninamanon's review against another edition

While the book is absolutely well written and the story and characters are original and interesting, I personally didn’t like the pacing/structure and was confused by what the book is trying to do. I loved reading about the memories of when Owen and the protagonist were kids, but then it would suddenly be interrupted by a tangent on US history, and I would lose interest. That, paired with the way women are sexualized, led me to conclude this type of book is just not for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad 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

4.0

There were times that I thought some editing could’ve s helped, admittedly. After all, it’s 1155 pages! But overall, it was the funniest sad story I’ve ever read, and it was brilliantly done. It was a deeply satisfying read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and War

lady_n_beautiful_reads's review against another edition

I tried really hard to like this book—so many folks loved this book. I just cannot. It was an awful slog to try to read. 

This is supposed to be an adult man looking back on his childhood. From the outset, the author minimizes the incredible bullying of Owen Meany (and if this book was written as the narrator growing, I would be more forgiving of this, but since he is an adult looking back….I struggle with his lack of reflection on how awful they were to Owen). Additionally, the narrator is tediously descriptive and rambling at times, returning back to previously covered topics (it is written almost as though the reader is sitting and talking with the narrator—it’s a stream of consciousness at times). Women are treated terribly—either they are mean, worthless, or sexualized. The narrator makes out repeated with his female cousin, talks about his mother’s breasts and how attractive she is, and discusses how worthless Owen’s mother is. 

Because so many loved this book, I skipped to the last chapter and read about 20 pages. The writing style remained the same, with ZERO reflection/growth of the narrator. 
SPOLER (skip down to the last paragraph to avoid): Owen carves his own tombstone and died in Vietnam. The narrator believes that Owen foresaw his own death. Yet, there was no discussion in the pages I read that reflected on maybe Owen having depression/mental health issues and taking his own life purposefully on that day. 

If this book was 400 pages shorter—even 300–maybe I would find it more palatable. I am also not religious, so maybe if I had that faith, I would have overlooked the glaring sexism, bullying, and lack of reflection on mental health. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Sexism, Grief, and Death of parent

thenecessarysalamander's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cursing, Car accident, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Racism, Blood, Antisemitism, Dementia, Religious bigotry, and War

gm_vak's review against another edition

dark 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: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent