Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Erstaunen

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Erstaunen by Richard Powers

22 reviews

okiecozyreader's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

This is my first book by Powers and I feel like maybe it was a good place to start. I really liked the start of the book - the relationship of a child with a behavior disorder somewhere on the spectrum and his father (after the tragic loss of the mother). The father wants to avoid medicating his son, so he submits him to the care of a practitioner whose goal it is to change the way he thinks through a reasoning brain “game.”

I was really interested where the book would go from this point. Being an educator, I think about students like Robin and wonder what is the best way to help them.

It’s a little sci fi, with a message about the condition of the earth, nature and empathy. When it got to this part, I felt like it was at times more heavy handed.

I went back and watched Oprah’s interview with the author on Apple plus. (It’s interesting he doesn’t have internet connection and has to go somewhere to do zooms, etc). The discussion about the title was interesting - based on Plato’s Cave - “The eye knows two kinds of bewilderment- coming into the light and out of the light”
This is a story about a little boy who goes into and out of the light - and both processes are bewildering.

I could see comparisons to Flowers for Algernon and at times, it reminded me of Ted Chiang.

“Imagine a planet where the past never went away, but kept happening again and again, forever. That’s the planet my nine-year-old wanted to live on.”

“In the face of the world's basic brokenness, more empathy meant deeper suffering.”

“He'd discovered, on his own, what formal education tried to deny: Life wanted something from us. And time was running out.”

“The world had become something no schoolchild should be allowed to discover.”

“And you always say, an experiment with a negative result isn't a failed experiment.
"No," l agreed. "You can learn a lot from negative results."

Which do you think is bigger?
Outer space ...? Or inner space?

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aviabraham's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

2.0

This book was such a freaking bummer. I loved the overstory a lot which is the only reason I read this, since it’s really not my usual kind of book, but I was super disappointed. The narrator is the most boring, annoying character in the story. I found the way the author talks about women to be bizarre and dehumanizing. The ending felt rushed and didn’t make sense with the rest of the narrative. Would not recommend.

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gentle_human's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

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okayletsread's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

There are so many devastating themes packed into a fairly compact package. On the surface, this book seems to be about astrobiology, conservation, environmentalism, animal rights, and politics. Really, it's an exploration of a father-son relationship as they navigate the grief of Aly, Theo's wife, and Robin's mom.

The writing is at times stunningly crafted, and other times, it was a bit meandering. I have a hard time really investing in books that very directly have an agenda, but much of the prose still kept me interested. The climax at the end felt a bit rushed, too. My feelings are a bit all over the place with this one, but it sure made me think. Good books do that.

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audragio's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

1.0

This man just completely ignored everyone’s concerns for his child and everything that happens after that is COMPLETELY HIS FAULT. One of the most frustrating books I’ve ever read. Most hard headed character I’ve ever seen in Theo. Hated him. Also, did he not mention having another child in the beginning? And 11 year old? So Robin is the favorite. Got it.

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kaitlouise94's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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steveatwaywords's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-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

3.25

There is a lot to like about Powers's sentimental, often preachy, heavily-crafted story. Certainly some of my politics (environmentalism, freedom of speech, etc.) align well, so the book is written to me; and that's half its problem.

Don't seek nuance (or much complexity) as Powers aspires to bring nothing less than the infinite outer-verse and inner-verse into alignment and then sighs, "But humans. . . . " In many ways Daniel Keyes did as well or better with his own mouse. But once our author has allied himself with Algernon, the whole story is un-enthusiastically foretold.

The ending death of Robyn is not only a needless martyrdom, but by the time we reach it, I felt more like we killed him off only because the story was over rather than have his father continue to face raising him for more than a few narrative months.

It is Powers's deliberate and heavy-handed work to offer a sentimental story which makes this entire venture more ideology than literature, more emotional catharsis ("Somebody gets me!") than genuine reflection. Just because it's my propaganda doesn't make it less so.

But enough of that. Along the way, Powers does show why he remains a popular writer and that has more to do with real moments of waxing lyricism (a Neruda fan, for sure). He's eminently quotable: undoubtably portions of this work are already appearing on t-shirts, bumper stickers, and framed IG reels. His highly problematic glossing of medicine, schooling, and cognitive studies, for instance, from the vantage of such pithy verse, can safely be ignored. His takes on political dread or the micro-/macro-scales of nature and the universe, instead of providing challenges to us, are given in the briefest of chapters, only enough time for nods of the head.

My problem with the book isn't about his simplicity, with his designing the story and structure to be easy-reader friendly, it isn't even with the potent questions which appear here and there: it's that these insights are offered as conclusions, not as opportunities for exploration. So many writers have already done so much more . . .

Want a thorough read on animal rights that will grind on readers with its complex ethics? Try Elizabeth Costello by Coetzee. Want to talk about the Great Filter of evolution amongst the stars? Try a dozen science fiction writers from Clarke (philosophy of wonder) to Niven (hard science) to Pellegrino (realist military).

I enjoyed the read, found myself nodding too often appropriately, especially loved the frequent visits to other planets, and will remain committed to my politics and ethics both where they align with Powers and where they do not.

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