alexinnit's review against another edition
4.0
"I went up and found myself in a tower, a circular room lighted by five bull’s-eye windows: one red, one green (the Earth and its plants), one translucent (the Earth and its men), one yellow (the Sun), and one mauve (the Moon, night, the future)."
rachellynnmcguire's review against another edition
3.25
It reads like a short diary. There's so much missing. It's a good example of psychosis, though. And it helps that you go in knowing that she survives the whole thing and lives a fulfilling life afterward.
thesamedeepwaterasyou's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Rape
Minor: War
myyearofreadingandrelaxation's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.75
deanjean_reads's review against another edition
4.0
What is truly frightening is how calm and measured Carrington is throughout the book, even being very precise with the visions/hallucinations while documenting them. Indirectly, this book is also an account of the external effects of Cardiazol, administered to her in an attempt to stop her psychosis, but with the side-effects of intensely experienced fear.
One can't help but be held in awe of her self-assurance and immense will to live, given the horrendous events she had to undergo.
One can't help but be held in awe of her self-assurance and immense will to live, given the horrendous events she had to undergo.
petersonline's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating, a depiction of depression and madness as a sort of world that one inhabits, "down below" as a source of comfort when things are already so terrible. I can't say I always knew what was going on, but the introduction and postscript were valuable in providing context. I want to read more of Leonora Carrington's work, this was a good one to start with, though it was a particularly odd one because the text provided here was dictated by Carrington but written down by someone else, the original text having been lost. Still, a good introduction to a captivating figure in the surrealist movement.