Review of Paper Doll
Posted: 11 Jul 2021, 00:17
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Paper Doll" by Caitlin Strommen.]
Paper Doll follows Caitlin Strommen's journey of both mental and physical illness. Strommen developed anorexia at the age of 12 and later developed illnesses such as OCD and psychosis as well as an autoimmune disorder. She writes in a stream-of-consciousness style about her experiences with these illnesses, the factors that led to them, and how writing and music helped her get through her darkest moments.
I wasn’t quite sure what to think of Paper Doll when I started reading it. Strommen uses song titles instead of chapter headings to break up the writing. She also includes quite a few playlists. I tried at first to follow along and listen to the songs she listed, but I soon realized this was not feasible, as she mentions hundreds of songs. A lot of the book is written like poetry, as Strommen often does not use periods and divides the text up into separate lines rather than traditional paragraphs. At other points, she uses walls of text with no spacing.
However, once I got used to the style the book was written in, I really loved it. Paper Doll is an incredibly personal and intimate work. At times, I felt as if I were reading excerpts from Strommen’s diary. I admire Strommen’s courage in her writing, as I believe people sharing their experiences with stigmatized illnesses is one of the only ways to destigmatize them. One of my favorite things about the book was the strong theme of feminism. Strommen says multiple times that her eating disorder and subsequent illnesses came in part from the patriarchal ideas of femininity that were placed on her from a young age. This makes the book larger than just the author’s individual experiences. In a broad sense, this could be seen as a story about the harmful effects of sexism and the patriarchy.
This doesn’t mean that Paper Doll is perfect. I noticed many grammatical errors and typos throughout the story, such as mixing up your and you’re. It is also a fairly long read that could be edited down substantially if some of the repetition was taken out. For example, Strommen clarifies many times that she doesn’t hate men and that she believes feminism needs to include men without adding any new information to her point. The stylistic choices such as using commas instead of periods also made parts of the book confusing to read. These issues didn’t affect my reading experience too much, though. Paper Doll, in Strommen’s words, is “scattered, and in a million pieces, like my heart and brain.” Her writing style is meant to portray the way her mind works, and I believe she is successful at doing so.
With all this in mind, I am rating Paper Doll by Caitlin Strommen 3 out of 4 stars. I loved the feminist themes and Strommen’s focus on survival. However, I had to deduct a star for the editing errors. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in psychology or mental health and does not mind non-linear storytelling. Those who have struggled with mental illness may also find something to connect with in Strommen’s story. However, those who may be triggered by mentions of OCD, psychosis, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts etc. should avoid this one.
******
Paper Doll
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Paper Doll follows Caitlin Strommen's journey of both mental and physical illness. Strommen developed anorexia at the age of 12 and later developed illnesses such as OCD and psychosis as well as an autoimmune disorder. She writes in a stream-of-consciousness style about her experiences with these illnesses, the factors that led to them, and how writing and music helped her get through her darkest moments.
I wasn’t quite sure what to think of Paper Doll when I started reading it. Strommen uses song titles instead of chapter headings to break up the writing. She also includes quite a few playlists. I tried at first to follow along and listen to the songs she listed, but I soon realized this was not feasible, as she mentions hundreds of songs. A lot of the book is written like poetry, as Strommen often does not use periods and divides the text up into separate lines rather than traditional paragraphs. At other points, she uses walls of text with no spacing.
However, once I got used to the style the book was written in, I really loved it. Paper Doll is an incredibly personal and intimate work. At times, I felt as if I were reading excerpts from Strommen’s diary. I admire Strommen’s courage in her writing, as I believe people sharing their experiences with stigmatized illnesses is one of the only ways to destigmatize them. One of my favorite things about the book was the strong theme of feminism. Strommen says multiple times that her eating disorder and subsequent illnesses came in part from the patriarchal ideas of femininity that were placed on her from a young age. This makes the book larger than just the author’s individual experiences. In a broad sense, this could be seen as a story about the harmful effects of sexism and the patriarchy.
This doesn’t mean that Paper Doll is perfect. I noticed many grammatical errors and typos throughout the story, such as mixing up your and you’re. It is also a fairly long read that could be edited down substantially if some of the repetition was taken out. For example, Strommen clarifies many times that she doesn’t hate men and that she believes feminism needs to include men without adding any new information to her point. The stylistic choices such as using commas instead of periods also made parts of the book confusing to read. These issues didn’t affect my reading experience too much, though. Paper Doll, in Strommen’s words, is “scattered, and in a million pieces, like my heart and brain.” Her writing style is meant to portray the way her mind works, and I believe she is successful at doing so.
With all this in mind, I am rating Paper Doll by Caitlin Strommen 3 out of 4 stars. I loved the feminist themes and Strommen’s focus on survival. However, I had to deduct a star for the editing errors. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in psychology or mental health and does not mind non-linear storytelling. Those who have struggled with mental illness may also find something to connect with in Strommen’s story. However, those who may be triggered by mentions of OCD, psychosis, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts etc. should avoid this one.
******
Paper Doll
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
