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sachisoutham's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Tackling major issues and confronting the reader with heartbreaking and painful trauma as the book follows decades of adulthood for four male friends in New York. This book made me sob until I couldn't breathe and I would let it do it to me again.
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Car accident, Blood, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Homophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Rape, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Panic attacks/disorders
megshughes_13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide attempt, Death, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Sexual assault, Grief, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Physical abuse, and Medical content
abbeyrode's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Chronic illness, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Sexual assault, Drug use, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Suicide, Gore, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Addiction, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Death, Rape, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Medical content
xaqrii's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual violence, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Medical content, Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Confinement, Drug abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Death, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Child abuse, Violence, Self harm, Chronic illness, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
lqne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Self harm, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Addiction, Car accident, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, Stalking, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Blood, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Death, Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Dementia, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Terminal illness
mari_lit's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Gore, Ableism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Medical content, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Death of parent
canisand's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Hate crime, Homophobia, Body horror, Bullying, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Outing, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, and Violence
documentno_is's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Pros:
-The characters were deep, particularly Harold, Jude, Willem, ans JB were written with complexity and nuance.
-A stark and harrowing realness established the tone; I didn’t find this novel gratuitously sad just as difficult to sit with as much of the subject matter it dealt with.
- The chapters on Jude and Willem dealing with
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Cons:
- there was a general pessimism, and almost ridiculous amount of tragedy the author threw at these characters it felt almost gratuitous at times, in the content warning sections the bottom I realized it contained graphic descriptions of almost every kind.
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- I hated that the mystery of Jude’s tragedy was being used as a narrative device / the entire “ what happened to him” angle too closely mimicked the overly comfortable way in which society invades disabled people’s autonomy and almost counteracted the authors purpose/theme because a lot of what made Jude’s life so unbearable was people’s inability to give him agency and decision in his own life.
Ultimately an often poignant and sometimes overly long tale of friends navigating the difficulties of life. I recommend, with heavy SA trigger warnings.
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Torture, Vomit, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Eating disorder, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Ableism, Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
izzygordon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Rape, Violence, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
ajp136's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Addiction, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief