Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

79 reviews

sarahb919's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

When the summary said that Vincent disappeared off a cargo shipped I had assumed she survived and had simply pulled a Houdini. I’m kind of disappointed that she just fell off during a storm. I liked the ghosts though. I wish there had been more of that. Overall I enjoyed the story, even if it started out a bit slow and Paul was SUPER irritating. I hated his character. The book and the characters were very well-written. Very believable. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Colonisation

abicaro17's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

I have mixed feelings about this book. Generally, this book follows Vincent, a bartender with a drug addict brother and a fondness for filmmaking. After the disappearance of her mother when she was 12, Vincent looks for solid ground and finds it in Jonathan. Jonathan is a rich investment broker who proposes a deal in which Vincent acts as his wife and she gets to spend her time (and his money) as she likes. This book flips between childhood, her time with Jonathan, and her time after. The issues I had with this book mainly center on the multiple povs. This book contained at least 6 full chapters from other characters povs. Sometimes it was relevant like with Jonathan or her brother Paul but even so it was confusing. Also Emily tends to have strong sci-fi(ish) themes in her books and this one was weird but there wasn't much fantasy in this book. I just feel like this could have been stronger but it also could be because I adored Sea of Tranquility and this DOES NOT measure up. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

jdhauk's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug use, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction

arayo's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity, Suicide, Dementia, and Classism

kitten_nuisance's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, and Death of parent

dizzymisslizzy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, Dementia, and Death of parent

Moderate: Confinement and Mental illness

ms_sarah621's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was so different from what I was expecting. However, I still enjoyed it so much. Mandel’s writing is beautiful and so lyrical. I always enjoy her use of language and storytelling in her books. This book focuses on reality and survival of characters going through difficult times. It was so well written and thought out. The plot comes full circle at multiple points and shows so many different struggles that people face with real, complex emotions. If you like Mandel’s newer work, be prepared that this is somewhat different. It’s still focuses on moving through time, many characters, and how everything connects together. It is more based in reality and specifically the 2008 financial crisis. It is a wonderful story, and I would recommend it. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Death of parent

scoutee's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

chickaboogawah's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

kendallinthewild's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction