Reviews

The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Janice Galloway

_sofiia_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

mollybonovskyanderson's review against another edition

1.0

I couldn't continue reading this; it was page after page of self-absorption and self-loathing, administered in chunks of confusing, abstract misery. I didn't feel like the narrator gave you any insight to her relationships to people, other than hating them as well. I didn't expect a novel about crippling depression to be uplifting, but I did expect to feel something for the protagonist and her world.

savaging's review against another edition

4.0

One of those claustrophobic books, where you can't escape the self-destructive abyss of the narrator. But also beautiful, powerful, weirdly funny sometimes. And Scottish, so you get to read people saying "och".

There is also eating disorder and fat-phobic content which honestly just kind of sucks to read about.

sophiew1407's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

2.5

calif0rnia's review

emotional sad slow-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

3.5

I enjoyed the book. I couldn’t help but have mixed emotions for the protagonist, because even when I cared for her, I didn’t feel really close. Like I could never see her fully.  
I liked the writing style too, but I found myself lost at some parts.

eiventeapot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

4,5⭐️
it was a very good read. very interesting formatting and style, though it was a little hard to read at points. it was definitely dark and sad and not always pleasant to read. the characters all felt very real, having realistic flaws and virtues. the dialogues felt very real and accurate to life as well, along with the monologue.
easily one of the most interesting books i’ve read. i highly recommend it to everyone.

_dilliam_william's review

sad medium-paced

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

4.0

How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? 
One, but the light bulb has to want to change.

This book made me upset. Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. It just so perfectly described things that I have been through and things that people I know have been through. Reading it in January was possibly a mistake but it means it's only up from here.

I like this book more than 'The Bell Jar'. I like the writing style more and the fact that it's in Scotland probably makes it more familiar. I have just never read such visceral descriptions of things like anorexia. The accuracy in the way that Joy's anxiety is described makes me think that her descriptions of things that I haven't experienced are just as succinct.

I would not recommend this to anyone going through a tough time as I think it has made me significantly more anxious during an already anxious period. But there is something about the way that this book captures the experience of self-sabotage and the isolating world of medical administration that makes it an incredibly worthwhile a read.

jenfarquharson's review

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

casparb's review against another edition

4.0

This was a very stressful read and chimed in rather well with being incapacitated by a little booster vacca. I think it was uncomfortable and stressful but only because it was so well written. It's an incredibly difficult topic to handle the balance of - but I think Janice did perfectly. It was viscerally believable.

I love the water. The form here was something quite unique, I don't think I've encountered a text that uses the gutter as an illustrative device to play with mental fragmentation. It's a text that encounters itself both in the jarring O-gape agony and in liquidity. Everything slips away from the reader but I couldn't find that frustrating. Stressful, yes, but because it was convincing enough that I couldn't qualify it as convincing any more, only It Was.

I'm still ailing and I feel I've left something out but I can't remember I will try again sometime.
(thank you Eilidh)

miss_bct's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0