Reviews with content warning for Abortion - The Life of the Mind

Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

The Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood

16 reviews

macodi's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

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stellahadz's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I think this is the kind of book that has to marinate in my mind for a while before I can figure out exactly what I think about it. It's well-written, has an interesting premise, and offers insightful and relatable commentary on academia, relationships, and the nature of existence in the 21st century (the phrase "boring dystopia" comes to mind). The miscarriage is described in fairly graphic terms, but it doesn't seem to faze the narrator at all - I think there's something to read into this about how by the nature of the times we live in, things that we think ought to be traumatic or catastrophic seem a bit mundane. I can see how this book isn't for everyone, but I liked how subtly philosophical it was.

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amylureads's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense 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

3.0

This one hits too close to home, and throws my mind back to graduate school. It is very smart, and meta: at times every single thought opens onto a related, obsessive thing, on the sentence level. It is concerned with what happens through today's scattered attention due to technology and a loss of self, especially for women. Piqued my anxiety. Overall enjoyed this book and appreciated its self-awareness about the things I'm describing, but the whole scenario are dynamics I run from in my real life.

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cf1990xxx's review against another edition

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challenging 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

2.25

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siriface's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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olpapi's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

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smwells94's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.5

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rheachandran's review against another edition

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challenging sad fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

“Thought how naive she had once been to believe there was anything glamorous about the life of the mind”
Fast book, no real plot but good commentary on the helpless plight of the world and the academy. Will I have kids?

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solasuaine's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-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

3.5

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smute's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective slow-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

4.0

At first I was surprised to see so many negative reviews for this book, but having read it now I can see why some people might be put off by it. Firstly, it doesn't offer much in terms of plot. In fact, most of the action takes place outside of the narrated time. We begin post rem, learn a lot about past events, are even encouraged to anticipate future events, but the few weeks covered in the story are remarkably uneventful. Secondly, and not coincidentally, the text is deeply introspective, emotional, and it paints a gloomy picture of our (pre-)apocalyptic world. It made me laugh out loud more than once but much of its humor stems from the absurd contrast between the protagonist's resigned levity and her lostness in an indifferent world. But that's also where the story's magic lies. Smallwood manages to turn familiar mundane moments into relevant, poignant observations on life in the 21st century—on fear, privilege, guilt, resignation, powerlessness, acceptance, and even hope. What the story lacks in amusement it more than makes up for in hyper-examined introspection. Yes, there are a lot of stories about academics with low self-esteem, but rarely do they hit as close to home as this one. If that's your jam, you're gonna love it.

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