Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

43 reviews

parkerjm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Blood, Kidnapping, Rape, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Child abuse, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Car accident, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Self harm, Gore, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Infertility, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Ableism, Blood, Addiction, and Alcohol

rainreading's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Medical content, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Car accident, Grief, and Body shaming

bpina92's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

Don't read this book, unless you want to be incredibly sad and at times a bit bored. There are also so many triggering events that if you are not in the right headspace, then you'll really hate this book. Honestly, it could have been way way shorter if she had condensed some chapters or even left out some of the descriptions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Confinement, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Body horror, Bullying, Kidnapping, Rape, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Drug use, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Torture, Eating disorder, Suicide, Violence, Fatphobia, Drug abuse, and Dysphoria

evieold's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Not a book I could recommend when people asked as it is full of every trauma you could ever imagine.  My heart breaks for all the characters throughout and I had to put it down towards the end (those who have read it will know the point I am talking about) to steel myself emotionally to finish.  However, it is the most comprehensive and deep character development I have ever read in a book and truly describes what it is to love and have lost,  and what I can only imagine it is like to live with such deep trauma.  

Not a fan of trauma for traumas sake as so many brand this genre and books like ‘My Year Of Rest And Relaxation’, but this does not compare as it has a deeper level of truth, of a real life.  

A true masterpiece of what to live a life is like, and the emotions, contradictions, and trauma which can come with it.  A book, although painful, I will read many times more, and that is saying something from someone who does not reread books often if at all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Rape, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Medical content, Hate crime, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Gore, Torture, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Vomit, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Kidnapping

shannon1954's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

I do not recommend this book to read to anyone unless you are in a mentally good and secure space and environment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Biphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Sexual content, Self harm, Hate crime, Grief, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Suicide, Medical trauma, Classism, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Racism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, Cursing, Body horror, Ableism, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Child death, Body shaming, Rape, Xenophobia, Violence, Pedophilia, Vomit, and Torture

birdghosting's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• 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? Yes

4.5

This is a book that will stay with you for a very long time, for better or for worse. It seems you either love or hate this book, and I came out loving it (even though I ugly cried through over 20% of it—and it's a long book).

As someone who usually reads fantasy and not much set in the real world, I could not put this book down once I got past the introductory section. It was very easy for me to get attached to Jude, who the entire book revolves around (I didn't even realize when starting that this is mainly his story). I was rooting for him the entire way through, desperately wanting to know more about him at each turn as it would offer me something new as a treat.

The characters all felt like they lived real and true lives, and written to perfectly match how you're meant to feel about them in that moment. Even certain characters who I loved the whole way through made errors that I hated reading about, thought to myself that I wouldn't forgive someone doing that to me—and that's life. The relationships everyone has with each other, not just with Jude, are the strongest part of the book.

I'm not used to reading such long prose, but it was very enjoyable. I did have several moments where I would start reading one sentence and get lost among the different branching off thoughts and ideas the single sentence goes through, and I'd have to return to the beginning of the sentence to remember what it was meant to be about. This would also happen with chapters, which would sometimes go into a completely different topic than where we first started before finally circling back around. There was also a lot of academic and legal talk that made me wish I were going back to university, and I didn't have a good mind map of the locations and geography talked about, which makes me curious if someone who knows New York well would be able to picture it clearly.

I think about this story at least once a day.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Stalking, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Grief, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, Drug abuse, Torture, Drug use, Gaslighting, Blood, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, and Medical content

Minor: Transphobia, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Classism, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

queerhoney's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Self harm, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gore, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Body shaming, Gun violence, Medical content, Sexual violence, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Cancer

moomoochamp's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Self harm, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Kidnapping, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Ableism, and Medical trauma

Minor: Abandonment, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Acephobia/Arophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Fatphobia, and Vomit

jaybird_reads's review

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

No stars because no star rating feels accurate. On one hand, the prose is really beautiful and the book is, at times, incredibly written. On the other, I do not believe this author should have ever written this book.

I will begin this by saying that I am a queer disabled man, and it is for that reason (and my insatiable, sometimes harmful curiosity) that I read this book.

This book is not some great gay novel as so many have claimed. It is not even written about queerness; it just uses sex with men as one of the many ways that Jude is physically and emotionally tortured. Jude’s sexuality, trauma, and disability is not written with empathy — it is written with a sick fascination that is voyeuristic in nature.

Some of the characters are more than lovable. Some of the scenes and relationships are beyond beautiful. I cried over the first description of Jude’s pain because it was so similar to my own. I cried over the care that Harold showed Jude. I don’t care. The point of this book could have been achieved in 200 less pages and with less than half of the atrocities that were done to Jude.

I might write more later, but for now I have finally sat down and read (in one week) this 800 page trauma-porn novel that so many people are undeservedly obsessed with (most likely because our culture is obsessed with trauma and abuse, especially that visited upon queer men) and can finally say from personal experience: do not fucking read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Violence, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Vomit, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

macpreeper's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is amazing but devastating. The characters are like real fleshed out 3D people. 10/10 would read again but beware of the trigger warnings.  

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Content Warnings

Minor: Grief, Rape, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Classism, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Racism, Torture, Violence, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Physical abuse, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, and Transphobia