So, I was actually going to post this yesterday but I got distracted by some household chores so I didn't get to finish the book until a little bit later in the evening than I had originally wanted. So, I'm really writing this on Sunday night and saving it for tomorrow (er, today).
Nothing really thrilling has happened lately. The craft room is almost put together, and I'm just missing a few "big" pieces for it. So, hurray for that! And there's school. School's been pretty good. The kids in my effective speaking class are kind of major dicks, but they're young so I guess I'll just be nice and chalk it up to age. (But I mean here's a quick reality check: they're probably just actual dicks.) But everyone has been nice in this one stupid class I have to take called "Integration of Knowledge". I dunno if every college has a busywork class like this, but maybe! And apparently my teacher finds my snarky criticism of one of the textbooks charming, heh. Thank goodness. I guess I can be kind of a pill sometimes when I write. High schools should take a page out of colleges and give their students a bit more freedom. I generally don't feel like I have to cater to the teachers as much anymore; I generally write "honestly" now.
Lately I've been trying to go through some of my books and *gasp* clear out some of what I own. I'm trying to thin out my collection a bit before I graduate and (possibly) move away for "real" college. So, this book fell into that pile of "hey I should read this and see if it's worth taking with me when I leave Pennsylvania in the dust".
(Sorry for the poor photo quality, this was taken with my phone in some subpar lighting conditions.)
The story is basically split into two narratives. We're first introduced to Alba and Oscar, two patients in a mental institution. And guess what? They fall in LOVE!? (Cause the title wasn't enough of a spoiler.) Alba is a children's book author with bipolar disorder and anxiety issues (at least that's what she's diagnosed with) and Oscar is a recovering drug addict. They manage to go on a few little adventures together that I guess are supposed to be charming. The other narrative involves a woman that had been committed to this same hospital years earlier; she was diagnosed as a schizophrenic with epilepsy, but to her Native American tribe she was seen as a healer and her "fits" were really just her going off into "The Land of the Dead" to heal people. So, was she magical or was she mentally unstable?
I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. I always kind of find the idea of premises like this as being a bit misleading. The author clearly did some research (she lists sources in the back), but I didn't feel like she could really empathize with what it means to be mentally ill. I might be coming off a bit harsh about this because of my own personal history though, I'll admit that. I just, I feel like Carey was forcing a love story in when I can't realistically see these two characters getting together in the long run.
I also found that the two narratives didn't really blend well together. I wish we could've stuck with Alba and Oscar OR "Mary" the healer. You know, one or the other. I thought that when put together, I couldn't really focus on or enjoy either fully. This should've just been two separate books.
Perhaps I'm alone though, as this has fairly good reviews on Amazon. But I found that the author romanticized mental illness too much for my taste. (Though I did think some of Alba's panic attacks WERE portrayed well; specifically the one at the carnival.)
I would not read this again and I'll be putting it in my pile of books to give away at my next book exchange party, but maybe this just wasn't for me in general! If you've ever read it or end up reading it, feel free to let me know what you thought of it!
If you have any suggestions for books for me to read, feel free to leave me a message or send me an email! I actually have a list and I'm constantly adding stuff, so I love hearing about different books!
xo, Kate
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