Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - The Blind Owl

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat

7 reviews

hannxm's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

An unusual book, that's pretty dark and depressing, with somewhat outdated themes. It's literary fiction so they don't always make much sense, but I could still appreciate the artistry of the writing, and there were some really notable and thought provoking philosophical sentences said by the protagonist.

The book is much more interesting when you know the story of the author's life. It felt like I was really listening to the thoughts of the author, not the MC.

I listened to the Spotify audiobook which was excellently read, but is why I don't have any highlights to share.

Content Warnings

dizzzybrook's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

deathmetalheron's review

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challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Since I restarted reading, I have been searching for this book, or rather, one much like it. The Blind Owl succeeds in all three aspects of great fiction--the story is gripping and interesting, the themes are poignant and relevant, and the prose is astounding and powerful. It's hard to look at this story and truly unpack it and find each little piece.
Even in its presentation, the book seeks to alienate and confuse the reader--there are five chapters, but only really 2 and 4 share 90% of the written text. The other three are short set pieces and framing devices. By the end of both the core chapters, Hadeyat starts to repeat passages of text, forcing the reader to go back and question whether they've read--and suddenly you realize you're going insane as you read the book, as reading the text itself simulates the same descent of insanity as the reader. The dramatic irony thickens in Chapter 4 when you see images repeat themselves in such a mundane fashion, and they are paced so well throughout the story you forget that they are coming--cypress trees, bone-handled knives, laughing so hard you get goosebumps--these moments all sing together in harmony, terrorizing the reader completely while the character himself exists in total unawareness.

Content Warnings