Title: A Revolution of The Mind
Author: MV Perry
ISBN: 9780578314044
Publisher: Heeler Books
Pages: 482
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Lily Andrews
Pacific Book Review
A Revolution of The Mind is a tightly woven treatise by author MV Perry. It is a literary work of autofiction which explores mental illness with its key focus on a change in societal attitudes and the overall mental health mindset. Ellen Harvey, nicknamed Boo, is a young woman from an opulent family and suffering from mental issues and depression. Her father’s wish was for Boo to attend a prestigious university but instead chooses a little-known college.
The book follows Boo’s college days, her self-indulgence in drugs and flamboyant parties, and the consequences of it all. Further, the book navigates between Boo’s struggles with mental issues and political analysis in supporting mental health patients. Perry, a real-life advocate of mental health, has brilliantly blended his experiences with a rich narrative that is not only eye-opening but entertaining as well.
A Revolution of The Mind is a character-driven narrative and the author uses Boo as a vehicle to bring awareness to readers on the subject matters. Readers learn of her loneliness and alienation as she struggles to make friends and find a welcome reprieve in a mentor Jude, an activist. The novel conveys Boo’s mental suffering across the chapters but lightens up and widens as she begins envisioning her future and the trajectory of her life.
Perry gives us a glimpse into the life of a mental illness patient, her struggles, and her general outlook on life. It sheds a light with its use of fictional characters on a myriad of issues including race, politics, civil movements, and social psychology. The main protagonist Boo is a well-developed character who is not flawless, to say the least, and readers will at times sympathize with her and at other times get inspired by her general outlook on life.
I liked how the author blends real issues and fiction for social commentary highlighting societal flaws and ideally preventing their continuation. Needless to say, Boo’s account takes center stage in this engrossing novel as she narrates her life in college and her opulent background. Through the first-person narrative, the writing is strong, emotional, intimate, and solid. Readers will find themselves careening across the chapters while enjoying a period of self-reflection as well.
Whether A Revolution of The Mind garners the large audience it deserves, remains to be seen, but in my opinion, Author Perry has penned a winner in this illuminating and meticulously edited read.
