Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

55 reviews

ninireads_03's review against another edition

challenging 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

please check trigger warnings before reading :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Self harm, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Child death, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Classism and Racism

Minor: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

julianxiv's review against another edition

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

5.0

i've been in a terrible reading slump for months. who would think this would be the book to drag me out of it? at first, i would constantly complain about how slow it was, but it picked up after a while, and before i knew it i had finished it in the next week.

as i am writing this review, my cheeks are still stiff with tears, my nose is still running a little. i have never been so hurt by any piece of media ever before, and i am both relieved that it's over and wish it was longer still.

i am relieved that it's over because i cannot stand to see these characters in any more pain. over the course of these 700 pages, i've come to love them as if they were my own friends in my own real life, rather than characters on pages. hanya yanagihara is so incredibly talented, has such a way with words, and she makes you love, or at least like, every character at one point or another. Spoiler except you caleb. fuck caleb. always had a bad feeling about caleb

yanagihara is also so good at making you love a character in one chapter, and hate them in the next. looking at you, jb. most of the characters are pieces of shit at one point or another, but you always know why. you are always presented with a reason they are acting a certain way.

currently, i'm sitting here wondering what to write next, because i have thoughts i just can't articulate. a little life is the most profoundly sad and beautiful thing i have ever consumed, in every possible way. the writing, the meaning, the relationships between the characters: all of it will be occupying my mind for a long time to come. the way the characters interact (jude with willem, harold and andy in particular) seems so natural, so real.

yanagihara writes in a way that makes you feel exactly the emotions the characters are feeling, you can feel their every high, low and everything in between. when jude felt something, i felt it too; when willem felt something, i felt it too; when harold felt something; you bet i felt that as well. even though none of these characters are all that relatable for me, they are written in such a way that you can understand them perfectly, even if you haven't gone through the things they have.

even though i have and will continue singing this book's praises, it's not something i would ever recommend to anyone. its not something i think should be going around platforms like tiktok, where people who might not be ready for it will come across it being recommended to them. it's not something that should be displayed on booktok tables in bookstores. the book deals with so many heavy and traumatic topics that if you are planning on picking it up, read the trigger warning list, and read it carefully. it's something you need to be ready for. you need to be in the right place emotionally in order to enjoy it.

i have feelings about this book that i can't put into words, it has hurt me and joyed me in ways i simply cannot describe. i'm not the best book critic around, but i would say this book is worthy of the title "masterpiece."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, Child death, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

Moderate: Racism and Lesbophobia

Minor: Transphobia

sophiali07's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Rape, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Suicide

gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

1.0

This book is absolutely wretched (derogatory), for a plethora of reasons. In no particular order and to varying degrees of fucking awfulness: 

• The fatphobia: this book constantly ridicules fat persons, both in the language that is used to craft their existence, or in the way that these characters are treated by others (see: JB). 
• The transphobia: in one scene, a side character is having, what is presumed to be, a transitioning party. At no point within the text does the author nor the characters switch their use of pronouns after learning this. 
• The friendships: I've heard people talk MANY times about how this book is such a good marker of friendship. It is not. The friendships in this book are unhealthy, borderline abusive. The characters hold their friends on pedestals, refusing to see any flaws from their friends. The OTHER OPTION is that the characters view their friends suffering and flat out, selfishly refuse to see past it, as if nothing is wrong.
• The depiction of queer relationships: Yanagihara disgusts me. The constant depiction of MLM relationships as something "wrong", as something "disgusting" eventually culminating to Queer tragedy felt so utterly wrong. She did not handle Queer issues with any grace, instead choosing to force trauma upon trauma upon Queer characters
• The trauma: at a certain point in the book, I started to roll my eyes at the amount that Jude suffered. Not because he deserved it, but because each time the reader thinks things might get to a place that is okay, Yanagihara thrusts something in the readers faces, as if to say "NO! LOOK! LOOK! ACTUALLY IT"S JUST BAD!" I don't fucking care that she intended this book to be a reflection of cherishing life's happy moments. What came across was horrendous. 
• The self harm: after a number of repetitions, the self harm in the book felt so fucking blasè. Yes we know this character is harming themselves. why the fuck did you feel the need to detail every single tiny detail of it. every. single. time. To what purpose does this serve but to the author's disgusting twisted sense of shock value. 

I don't know why i finished this book. I truly don't. I'm reevaluating the last couple days of my life and the use of my free time. Don't read this book. If you're looking for depictions of trauma on a similar scale but with ACTUAL meaning and purpose within a story, just read The Poppy War for christssake. 

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Content Warnings

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

viireads's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

litah's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

read if you want to cry

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Bullying, Blood, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Classism, Child abuse, Car accident, Ableism, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Addiction, Hate crime, Grief, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Body horror, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Self harm, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Drug use, Abandonment, Vomit, Violence, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, and Domestic abuse

danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective 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 is my favorite book I’ve ever read, usurping Ken Follett’s “The Pillars of the Earth”. Incandescent. Equally harrowing and hopeful, brutal and beautiful. A modern sweeping American gothic masterpiece. Also without getting into details, as a trauma survivor, I cannot overstate how much this resonated with me, gave me a fair amount of catharsis, and, perhaps strangely, gave me a lot of hope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Self harm, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Trafficking

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Confinement and Transphobia

sleepdepr1vat1on's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Ableism, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Transphobia

introverted_reads's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Outing, Stalking, Transphobia, Biphobia, and Excrement

maggie_naph's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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: Ableism, Violence, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Confinement, Addiction, Blood, and Car accident

Minor: Transphobia, Vomit, and Racism