Question #3: A First-Person Perspective

[[deleted user]]

Turtles All the Way Down is ultimately a story about mental illness.
How did you feel about the first-person perspective of
OCD/anxiety? Did it feel authentic?

Would you recommend this novel to someone who is suffering themselves, or who has a friend or loved-one who is suffering from some form of mental illness?

[jammy samwise]

I absolutely feel that the first-person perspective of OCD/anxiety felt authentic. I don't suffer from OCD like Aza does, but I do have anxiety, and I found her anxious thought spirals to be tremendously relatable. Aza and I definitely don't worry about the same types of things, but the irrationally negative intrusive thoughts (and her knowledge of the irrationality of them, but still being unable to rid herself of them) that she experiences throughout the novel were so real to me and very reminiscent to my own personal experiences with mental illness.

I would definitely recommend Turtles All the Way Down to someone suffering from any mental illness. Everyone's experiences are different but I'm sure there's something in this book that almost any mental illness sufferer could relate to--even maybe the familial relationships, romantic relationships, or friendships.

I would also absolutely recommend the book to anyone who has a loved one who is suffering from some type of mental illness. As was mentioned earlier in this month's discussion, I think it can help people who don't personally experience such things to become more empathetic and really get a better grasp on what it can be like for that person.

[Rocio]

The first person perspective was very effective in my opinion to bring us with the character into her feelings and emotions. I almost feel it is the only real way to communicate these experiences, the story needs to be told from the inside of the character's mind. It was very effective in making me relate to the character. I would definitely recommend this books to anyone trying to understand this type of conditions. I think that by reading this book people will find tat they are not alone and the anxiety they feel is real and specially that there is hope.

[jammy samwise]

Rocio wrote: "The first person perspective was very effective in my opinion to bring us with the character into her feelings and emotions. I almost feel it is the only real way to communicate these experiences, ..."

I completely agree, Rocio! I don't think a story like this could effectively be told from a third-person perspective (or any other perspective for that matter). It certainly wouldn't have the same impact when taking the subject matter into account - as you said, it needs to be told from inside the character's mind!