The Mind Reels

pick

I have long been fascinated by how the brain works and how it can go wrong, and this is an exploration of the latter. Initially, Alice is incredibly relatable, heading into college with all the insecurities and fears that entails. Then things start to go very wrong for her. This is a good way to gain empathy for those suffering from significant mental illness and a demonstration of how badly our health care system lets these people down. #TOB26

Hooked_on_books @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB @merelybookish @Chelsea.Poole @Bookwormjillk @sarahbarnes @BkClubCare 19h

charl08 Aw 🥰🐕 18h

Soubhiville What a great Bindi photo! 🥰 16h

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merelybookish Great review! I read this one and found it well-written but oh-so bleak. He describes her mental distress so well but I found it an uncomfortable read. 15h

Bookwormjillk Great review and great picture 15h

sarahbarnes Great review! I do think I want to get to this one. 13h

AmyG What a lovely Bindi photo! 13h

KT1432 This sounds really interesting! 13h

BarbaraBB Lovely photo and great review! 12h

dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 9h

Hooked_on_books @merelybookish I agree with all of that. It‘s definitely bleak. I tend to appreciate realist books that are dark and show some aspect of the human condition, but I know they aren‘t for everyone. 8h

squirrelbrain There‘s a bit of controversy around the author, I think, but I‘m still intrigued to read this one. Hi Bindi! 👋 7h

Hooked_on_books @squirrelbrain I didn‘t know anything about the controversy, but I can say that he treats his character with a lot of respect, allowing her to be a whole person, good and bad, and showing her struggle in a way that feels so real. And Bindi says hi back! 5h

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merelybookish

The Mind Reels | Fredrik deBoer

so-so

Ugh, this short novel from the #TOB long list is BLEAK. It follows a young woman's descent into serious mental illness. (Schizophrenia is suggested.) Eventually she must choose between life on heavy meds or psychotic episodes. As a reader, we experience both. As well as the hospitalizations in between. The book is well written but it is rough going. Worth reading maybe if you want to understand that diagnosis? Otherwise, I would say skip.

merelybookish There also appears to be some online controversy about the author. (In regards to treatment of reviewers.) I didn't dig into it too much but another possible reason why this might be a good one from the longlist to skip. 5d

sarahbarnes Good to see your review of this one. It was on the list of ones I was interested in, but I may reconsider. 5d

BarbaraBB I may reconsider too! 5d

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CSeydel Oh, I used to read his blog. He‘s a very interesting guy with some interesting ideas, but he can get a bit much sometimes. He tends to take online comments about him very personally, and get very intense in his replies, which is fine when you have a few hundred followers but comes off as a bit needy and neurotic when you have millions. 5d

CSeydel Here he is talking about media personalities dissing his book on BlueSky: https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/why-i-need-your-help-with-my-novel 5d

LeahBergen Ooph. That DOES sound bleak. 5d

squirrelbrain Yes, I was interested too initially but I saw a comment about his behaviour on GR, so moved it down my list. Your review only reinforces that. 5d

merelybookish @sarahbarnes Maybe wait and see if it makes the long list. It is a compelling piece of writing but also so depressing. 4d

merelybookish @BarbaraBB It is short, so there is that. 4d

merelybookish @CSeydel Thanks for the link! Yeah, I can't get a good read on whether he deserves the negative reviews or not. He is obnoxious and I can't quite see that the criticisms of the novel are accurate. 4d

merelybookish @LeahBergen Author says he wants to de-romanticize mental illness and I think he does a good job of that. 😬 4d

merelybookish @squirrelbrain I wouldn't make it a priority. 4d

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