Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford

19 reviews

readingbrb's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Racism

Moderate: Pregnancy, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Rape

Minor: War and Death of parent

bookmaddie's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

This novel explores the idea that trauma can be passed down through generations, and how someone can heal from it. Dorothy lives in the near future and struggles with crippling depression and anxiety, having tried all sorts of treatments that never live up to their sterling promises. She is recommended an experimental genetic treatment that allows the subject to experience the memories and lives of their ancestors, unlocking memories and finding ways to heal past selves. The narrative then jumps between Dorothy's perspective in the future, and those of her ancestors throughout history.

I really enjoyed the historical perspectives of the women Dorothy comes from. Ford's writing brings to life a vast array of time periods, creating engaging stories, even when we may only spend a fraction of the book with a character. However, in Dorothy's sections, I found the warmth to evaporate from the writing. It left her sections feeling lackluster in some way, and made it harder for me to connect with her story. I also found it a bit hard to understand the passage of time in Dorothy's sections. I can understand how some of these writing choices may have been made to reflect each character, but I think overall, it made for an uneven, and at times confusing, reading experience.

I also found the structure a tad repetitive. Each historical perspective ends with some sort of trauma, which makes sense due to the premise, but chapter after chapter—it felt endless. I wonder if there would have been a way to structure the story a bit differently so that each chapter felt a bit less formulaic.

This was a mixed bag for me. I think the writing wasn't strong enough to pull off such a complicated, idea. However, the idea is fascinating, and I'd be curious to see what Ford publishes in the future. Maybe I'd do better with a more straightforward (and historical?) plot.

Thanks Atria Books and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy. Sorry it took me so long to read it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Terminal illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Rape, Death, and Death of parent

zosiablue's review

emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Lovely (and a bit breathless) book about inherited trauma, with a light sci-fi bent. Really makes you wish we accepted and understood more about epigenetics - how much could we heal ourselves and future generations if we understood the trauma didn't start with us? There were multiple POVs and they weren't always balanced - the frame story was the tightest, but I want the others to feel as important as the author thought they were. Regardless, a comforting way to think about life and I'm glad I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Classism

Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Grief, Rape, and Pregnancy

apworden's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Spoiler

not sure I am comfortable with how Dorothy overdosing solving everyone’s problems could be interpreted by someone in a similarly stressful situation

otherwise, a beautiful book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, War, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Ableism, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Confinement, Deportation, Pregnancy, Grief, Body horror, Blood, Death, Bullying, Child death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Colonisation

vistacanas's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Karma is more like a suitcase. You have to be unafraid to open it up and look at what's inside, to unpack the things you do not need. Karma is the climate of the past which shapes how much leeway we have in the future.

Well, this was a wonderful multi-generational ride and an excellent introduction to the concept of epigenetics. It’s a combo of historical and futuristic fiction, as well as magical realism.

It took a bit longer to get totally pulled in to the story because of the multiple characters, but it’s well worth the extra effort. 

Spanning from the early 1800s to the late 2000s, the stories of the women of the Moy family are heartbreaking. The concept of trauma being passed down to future generations becomes completely believable when you read about multiple generations simultaneously. I have no doubt that most of the immigrants and all African-Americans are impacted by this awful phenomenon.

Highly recommend this one for those seeking pleasure and evolution!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Classism, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Grief, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Slavery

Moderate: Outing, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Deportation, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pandemic/Epidemic

thebookgeek's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual assault, Homophobia, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Child death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, War, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pandemic/Epidemic

probablybadgers's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Bullying, Death, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, War, Confinement, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

natalie12345's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Racism, Death of parent, Rape, and Addiction

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was a beautiful intersection of the daughters' stories and the idea of inherited trauma.  I loved it.  Not told linearly, it took some work to keep the daughters and the stories straight, but it was worth it.  It would be interesting to reread this book in timeline order.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Blood, Sexual content, Slavery, Abandonment, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, War, Bullying, Child death, Dementia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Racism

emmakchapman's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Racism, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Rape