Being mentally ill, having experienced the fairly monolithic and dreaded psych ward, knowing nothing other than that I do not belong, this book meant a lot to me. I have bpd, depression, ptsd, CPTSD, anxiety, the lot. I’ve had delusions before, I’ve known always the stark isolation from all that is and yet is not around me, for all my life. From my first moments of realising myself, I have known I was the other. This book means so, so very much to me. I feel incredibly seen. I felt seen in The Bell Jar, but this, it expounds upon those experiences and is it’s own wholly unique, beautiful, poetic story. A tragedy until it doesn’t have to be. Beautiful story. Stayed up all night to read it, fell asleep once I couldn’t force my eyes open anymore, then finished it as soon as I came back to consciousness. Amazing book.
Good introductory book for those who want to learn about toxic positivity. If you’re already pretty familiar with the concept you may not get much from the book, but it still has value nonetheless.
This was just such a beautiful read in my opinion. It was gritty, the people were cruel, and the way London wrote empathetically and with a feeling of immense passion for the wellness of animals, made the cruelty against them all the more painful. Buck’s journey was so fascinating to read, from being a softened pet dog, to an abused sled dog, to a wild dog and subsequent wolf pack leader. Like someone else mentioned, his relationship with Thornton was beautiful, and the line about him being his last bind to humanity filled me with such sadness and genuine grief. Beautiful story, just beautiful.
Great essay(?) on rape culture in Australia. An upsetting and saddening read, but a necessary one. I only hope for justice for the girls like Ophelia and everyone else who has been so cruelly abused in this way. Great work Newman.
No idea what the hell was going on for quite some time, but it's a shame because I do love how Dostoevsky describes certain feelings and sensations. Oh well.
Was just kind of boring. Felt like nothing was happening. Blurb suggested the terror of human powerlessness but K seems to just be annoyed at the proceedings, not in immense terror at his situation. Not enough of the hopelessness and despair that I thought I’d get.