Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Одинокий город. Упражнения в искусстве одиночества by Шаши Мартынова, Shashi Martynova, Olivia Laing, Olivia Laing

4 reviews

alyssapusateri's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

“God I was sick of carrying around a woman’s body, or rather everything that attaches to it.”

Wow! My copy is dog-eared from the countless quotes I wanted to remember and include here. What a beautiful and articulate piece of writing about analysing and challenging loneliness and what a delicate and finely-wrought talent for storytelling. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

ohlhauc's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

A clear and emotional look at loneliness from different angles, with a focus on its expression through the telling of four artists working in New York through the mid- and late- twentieth century - Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, David Wojnarowicz, and Henry Darger. There is also a bit of memoir as the author discusses her own relationship with loneliness while living in New York, but the memoir element definitely takes a back seat to the social commentary, art criticism, and author profiles.

One of the strongest parts is that the art criticism is accessible so you don't need to know a lot about art, especially art and photography, to understand the commentary. The author guides the reader by not only explaining the works but also their context and impact. Another strong part is how the author continued to define loneliness with deeper levels of meaning rather than relying on one definition, and doing so by looking at other forces like privilege, oppression, class structures, stigma, and more. You won't see much discussion on mental health, which was an element that I felt was missing, but the other social forces were compelling, especially during the sections on forced institutionalization and the AIDS epidemic.

If you're interested in art criticism, in books about the AIDS epidemic, in loneliness in general, or how society can fail people who are different - this book is for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Medical trauma

grtwrrn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Religious bigotry