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A review by heykellyjensen
Life is But a Dream by Brian James
2.0
2.5.
This story, set in a psychiatric ward, follows Sabrina through her struggles with schizophrenia. It's told both in the present and in flashbacks. Unlike many books dealing with schizophrenia, this one is actually about schizophrenia and not dissociative identity disorder. James doesn't conflate the two.
That said, the writing never quite worked for me. I felt too distanced from Sabrina to build sympathy for her. It makes sense because it's Sabrina's voice, but it felt more like it pushed me away than let me in. I was also not a huge fan of the use of Alec in the story; I do think he'll be an interesting discussion point, though..
Setting this in a psych ward was fascinating, and though it doesn't go the route of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I do think this book would be an interesting pairing with that classic.
Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2012/02/pair-of-contemporary-reviews.html
This story, set in a psychiatric ward, follows Sabrina through her struggles with schizophrenia. It's told both in the present and in flashbacks. Unlike many books dealing with schizophrenia, this one is actually about schizophrenia and not dissociative identity disorder. James doesn't conflate the two.
That said, the writing never quite worked for me. I felt too distanced from Sabrina to build sympathy for her. It makes sense because it's Sabrina's voice, but it felt more like it pushed me away than let me in. I was also not a huge fan of the use of Alec in the story; I do think he'll be an interesting discussion point, though.
Spoiler
I don't think he exists at all. I wanted to be mad because I thought maybe this was going down the road of a boy saving a girl, but really, I think he was all in Sabrina's mind. I can see many readers thinking that interpretation is wrong and believing Alec really exists. There's evidence for both sides here. But because I'm impressed with James's handling of honest schizophrenia, I choose to believe he's part of Sabrina's dream world.Setting this in a psych ward was fascinating, and though it doesn't go the route of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I do think this book would be an interesting pairing with that classic.
Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2012/02/pair-of-contemporary-reviews.html