Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj

6 reviews

themoostconfused's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

i pre-ordered when i first hear about it and it took about 6 months to eventually end up in my hands. it was worth the wait in every single aspect of it.

i read the entire book within a single day and didn't want it to end. i loved the interwoven paths of the characters and how their lives are connected with each other even in ways they might not even realize themselves.

it touches on the experiences of being an immigrant/a child of immigrants and all the everyday struggles, racism and generational trauma that entails.

the fight for freedom for palestine is on-going and the colonial powers are still not being stopped on a big enough scale. from the river to the sea, palestine will be free.

after reading the lines...

"'you're our rock,' everyone told her, but that reputation did,'t feel like a compliment anymore. it felt like neglect"

...i had to take a quick break because that sums up so many experiences into one and made me feel seen in such a painful but freeing way.

this book is a work of art and i will treasure it forever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, Violence, Abortion, and War

Minor: Torture

kerriski's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Dementia, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Mental illness, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism

richelleski's review against another edition

emotional funny tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia and Abandonment

Moderate: Eating disorder and Mental illness

alexandryareads's review

challenging reflective 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual content

zahrahm's review

challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.0

Largely my impression of the book was confused because the way it was pitched was that there were 3 families who after a specific event are intertwined… that didn’t happen at all. It was more there was 1-2 cameos across each short story. It may be an issue of the marketing but because it didn’t do what it promised I got to the end without realizing, thinking “… what?”
With that said, the short stories themselves tackle themes that are complicated, and there’s an argument that books like these must be written. BUT you must read the content warnings because I got blind-sighted multiple times when I’d suddenly get thrown for a loop with an event; I had to take breaks from the book because of it. I’m not someone who needs to read content warnings usually so this was a shock for me. Not a before-bed read for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infertility, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Miscarriage and Gaslighting

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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 was absolutely amazing, the interwoven narratives were so powerful and raw. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism