Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

5 reviews

melissahawco's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Grief

aisabel's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

I love the author’s prose, but I’m not sure how I feel about the actual story. Her descriptions of the swamp landscape and atmosphere were beautiful, and the setting deserved a better tale. I found myself completely uninterested in the World of Darkness segments.

The ending of the book killed off much of the “magical” of the magical realism in a way that didn’t feel organic. On the plus side, the grooming at the hands of the Bird Man was well written. Even though I could tell that something was very off, I, like Ava, wanted so badly to believe in the magic that I ignored it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Grief

Moderate: Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pedophilia

mmmmkay's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

alexalily's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, Kidnapping, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Terminal illness, Cancer, Grief, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Medical content, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cursing, Dementia, Vomit, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Classism, and Cultural appropriation

glitterhobbit's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense

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

3.0

*Contains Spoilers!*

Honestly not sure how I feel about this book. Very dark and disturbing, and not what I expected at all. The novel meandered a lot and the ending felt abrupt. Be warned that this contains a graphic depiction of rape. (Part of the reason why I’m struggling with how to feel about this book. Really hated that part and it was such a shock and so late in the story. Very disturbing. I tried skim-reading it. Ugh.) The novel itself was honestly just unpleasant to read. It was disturbing. 
One thing is for sure though—Karen Russell is really a stunning writer. I mean just a great writer. Her prose is so good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Mental illness, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Cancer, Grief, and Death of parent