In your opinion, what is the best literary representation of mental illness?

[mix]

For me, it is the character of John Smith in Sherman Alexie's Indian Killer. His psychological disintegration is driven by history and racism. I have rarely felt so much from a character.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Oh, I was going to say "A Man of Faith : The Spiritual Journey of George W. Bush"

but yours is probably a good choice as well.

[mix]

2. lol

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. For me, the ones I read as a

teen that really resonated with me (long before I was officially diagnosed as mentally ill)...

"The Language of Goldfish" http://www.amazon.com/Language-Goldfish-Zibby-Oneal/dp/014034540X

"I Never Promised You a rose garden" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Never_Promised_You_a_Rose_Garden_(novel)


I am not sure I care to read any new ones, although yours sounds interesting. I just feel too fragile right now.

[Ptah]

4. The Three Christs of Ypsilanti

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Christs_of_Ypsilanti

[mitchum]

5. Paul Schrader's screenplay for Taxi Driver or Hubert Selby's novels...

"The Room" and "The Demon"

[mix]

6. Light Sleeper was also superlative n/t

[darkstar]

7. I'm fond of Nabokov's "Despair"

[REP]

15. Or Pale Fire

The first part deals briefly with it, but the second part is a window on a delusion.

On edit, a lot of his work deals with delusion, come to think about it.

[Forkboy]

8. Does Catch 22 count?

There was certainly some mental illness going on on someone's part, that's for sure.

[graywarrior]

9. I freaking LOVED that book.

Read it a few years ago and STILL it stays with me.

[mix]

36. it taught me things about the world i had only imagined

[Xipe Totec]

10. Free Republic? n/t

[Forkboy]

22. Big win!

:rofl:

[REP]

11. The Yellow Wallpaper is one that comes to mind

[yewberry]

18. That's the one that came to mind for me, too.

Such a damning, visceral story.

[pinstikfartherin]

45. Me three!

I found it fascinating to read and study during one of my last Literature classes.

[zanne]

12. William Styron's "Darkness Visible"...

It's a short book--a non-fiction account of his descent into psychotic depression. NOTE: If you've ever suffered from severe depression, it's not a good idea to read this book. It'll bring it all back to you.

[mix]

16. i could not get throught it, too intense, maybe someday n/t

[hedgehog]

13. If you can tolerate a little woo-woo, the Lace Reader is good.

[Brigid]

14. What? Nobody's mentioned "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" yet?

A classic. :)

[begin_within]

25. The funny thing about it is,

very few of the characters in that book are actually ill mentally. The patients have their various issues but in today's climate would probably be considered disorders that could be easily treated (OCD, etc.) The narrator, Chief Broom, starts out the book as a paranoid schizophrenic but as the book progresses he recovers from it and ends as a sane and free individual. This aspect of the book was completely ignored, of course, in the highly deficient movie version...

[KamaAina]

17. Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar"

from the inside.

[femmocrat]

24. That was my first thought, too.

Such a tortured soul.

[datasuspect]

19. Fyodor Dostoyevsky

.

[callous taoboy]

20. Yup, Crime and Punishment. Raskolnikov's mental state

literally had my stomach in knots.

[mix]

26. The Brothers Karamazov is an important book to me, as is

Crime and Punishment, i need to read the others...

[datasuspect]

33. try this one

http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/DosNote.html

[mix]

34. bad link ?

[datasuspect]

37. the book is titled

"Notes from Underground"

by Dostoevsky.

it's in that collection as an ebook.

[mix]

38. i did read that, loved it

I am a sick man... I am a spiteful man. I am an unpleasant man. I think my liver is diseased.

[Strong Atheist]

21. Recommended,

dammit! x(

[Dystopian]

39. omg!

I'm so sorry...I have to smile.
Sometimes laughter is all we have left.
Every time I see this, I do the same...
So as not to announce myself again....
Whenever I see you, I've got your back....:hug:

dammit!

peace & love~

[Strong Atheist]

42. Thank you...

:hug:

[Richardo]

23. Christopher Boone, the teen-aged protagonist of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time'

Takes you inside the logic and emotions of an autistic adolescent. excellent work by Mark haddon.

[bluethruandthru]

27. I know this much is true by Wally Lamb. n/t

[Arugula Latte]

28. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is told from

the point of view of an autistic boy. Very interesting.

[Heidi]

29. I dunno, but I do believe we have a lot of reason to have hope for our brothers and sisters

with mental illness. The first book I ever read about mental illness was "The Bell Jar." We all know how Sylvia Plath's life turned out in reality, but that book was published 46 years ago. Times, medications, therapies and attitudes have changed (though not enough) and for every Sylvia Plath, most of us know many, many more people with mental illness who've gone on to live full, rich lives -- just as we know people with physical illnesses who live full, rich lives. They're our kids, our friends, our parents, aunts, uncles, co-workers. The time for making distinction between mental and physical illnesses is long past, in my opinion. :hi:

P.S. These are just thoughts. Not any critcism of your OP. It's a good and thought-provoking question.

[mix]

32. ..

:hi:

[Moondog]

30. "Silent snow, secret snow" - a short story by Conrad Aiken

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

31. The Chief's narration in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

35. The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe

Quite effectively the narrator tears apart his house after swearing he hears the heart beat of the victim he murdered.

[pinstikfartherin]

44. I forgot about that one.. n/t

[old mark]

40. Indian Killer is first rate - I just read it a few months ago.

An excellent book in its own right.

mark

[mix]

50. my first Sherman Alexie book

:hi:

[Paladin]

41. Any Book That Ann Coulter's Ever Written..... (n/t)

[mix]

43. ***thanks for all the great posts and suggestions***

:D

[PassingFair]

46. Anything by Philip K. Dick, but especially "Valis"

Brilliant paranoid-schizophrenic genius.

Made me wonder where the characters started
and the writer left off.

[mix]

47. that looks great, thanks, will read

:hi:

[Schema Thing]

48. A Revelation to John

[Zomby Woof]

49. "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey

Chief Bromden, whom like the Alexie character you refer to, is a native American driven to mental illness. He powerfully recalls the degradation of his father as a result of his treatment by whites and the system (called "The Combine" by Bromden).

The movie and book are miles apart. The movie dwells more on the POV of McMurphy, whereas the book is from Bromden's POV. It's one of the few books I have re-read more than once. One of the very best.