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gabiharvey'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? Yes
5.0
i finished this book on june twelfth. jude took his life, once and for all on june twelfth.
this book - i am completely and utterly speechless. even though i just finished it, i can tell, i know without a doubt, that this book has changed me. in what ways? i don't quite know yet, but i know it has.
"'my poor jude. my poor sweetheart.' and with that, he starts to cry, for no one has ever called him sweetheart..."
"'my sweetheart,' harold says again, and he wants him to stop; he wants him to never stop. 'my baby.' and he cries and cries..."
what's the most heartbreaking, is the inevitability of it all. from the start, jude's exit from this world via suicide was always obvious, always something that wouldn't come off as a surprise. and yet, being human, naturally i held onto some slight hope that he would find happiness in the end, that he would be okay. in the end, when his suicide was revealed, it was both a shock and not one, because for me personally, i just gaslit myself so hard, even though the truth was there in plain sight from page one.
it's utterly insane to me, how real this book has become. i swear jude st. francis, willem ragnarsson, and all the other characters are very real people. i don't know how yanagihara managed to do so, i just know she did.
having a main character who is disabled, abused both physically and emotionally, and consistently declining in overall health for the entire duration of the book is, like i mentioned earlier, a recipe for disaster. however, this also makes the book something beautiful in its tragedy, where as the reader, you know to appreciate the good moments, no matter how big or small. seeing jude achieve happiness with willem was something beyond rewarding to see, even though it was never necessarily "perfect", such as willem's choice of ignoring the fact that jude was miserable having sex, and resulted in jude burning himself, willem throwing a razor at him, and the entirety of that portion of the book. But, when they apolgized to one another, and talked, my heart ached and healed in a way words can't describe. seeing willem continue to accept jude as he tells his entire backstory, from the monastery to dr. traylor, was something i never thought would come to fruition. for jude to see that he was still loved after that, it was something beyond describing. without a doubt, the happy years was my favorite section of the book, especially after willem and jude's talk about his past. seeing willem worry incessantly for jude with his wounds, his staying at home as opposed to working, his comforting him with his nightmares, telling jude who he really is, his waking up and holding jude so tight when jude wanted to cut himself, his motivation for jude to take care of himself, his crying at jude's bed before the amputation operation (i broke so hard here), his being there as jude was put in a medically induced coma, his reassurance to jude that harold would never do what those clients did to him, his presence as jude learned to walk once again, or when he seized in bed (and willem thought that was it, poor baby :(), or tucked him in bed after noticing jude's dozing at the dinner table, or helping jude take his final walk with his real legs, or teaching jude how to dance in the bathroom, or touring that famous structure in europe together, or treating jude as nothing less than normal as he sat without his prothesis, or spending hours in the hospital with him, or taking a walk with jude even though it worried him, or attending jude's work party, in which jude came practically running (i know he actually can't but as close as he could, i'm sure) to willem when he saw willem tug on his left ear.
Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Rape, Torture, Emotional abuse, Grief, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Medical content, Pedophilia, Death, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Cursing, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Addiction, Body horror, Car accident, and Body shaming
Minor: Vomit and Death of parent
luuaa'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? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
xosevenusagbadan'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Rape, Sexual harassment, Violence, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Ableism, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, and Medical content
mikkiokko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Car accident, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Adult/minor relationship
kalynnar'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Rape, Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Blood, Torture, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Violence, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Stalking
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Cursing, Death of parent, Vomit, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Addiction, Ableism, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Death, and Drug use
theverycraftyvegan'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
5.0
Hanya Yanagihara is an immensely talented author. This book is beautifully written, and you will feel strong emotions about all the characters, be it love or hate. Unfortunately, that means the ones you love will also break your heart, over and over and over.
The story follows four friends from college and the people they meet along the way—the things they’ve lived through, their successes, their struggles, the things they can’t overcome. Please take care of yourself while reading this book and know that you are loved.
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Bullying, Car accident, Pedophilia, Self harm, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Body horror, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical trauma, Suicide, Rape, Violence, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Death, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit
Moderate: Cursing and Infidelity
tazch1701's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
With regards to Jude, I wish there was more of an exploration of his thoughts and how his adverse childhood shaped his self worth as an adult. It was easy to extrapolate the fact that what happened to him as a child is what makes him act the way he does as an adult, but I specifically would have liked to have seen an explanation of that in his own words/ inner monologue.
I have a major issue with the end. It could have been a brilliant way to explore how choosing to take the steps to recover doesn't always mean you will recover. Or the fact that recovery is not linear, that normal is different or almost has no meaning at all when your childhood has been so wrought with strife. An aspect of mental health I think is ill explored is the very real risk of actually not seeing improvement despite leaning on a support system and taking steps to get better, if the book explored that it would have felt complete. Instead, it ended in a way that makes the book seem like its only purpose was to make Jude suffer physical abuse from either other or himself. Not to say Jude's ending didnt make sense, given what happened to Willem I fully understand why he did what he did. But it robbed readers of an ending that would have left us a little more enlightened and equally as heartbroken.
I still have to rate the book fairly highly despite how much I hated the ending because its taken up so much space in my mind and its taken me almost a year to properly articulate my thoughts on it.
Graphic: Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Child death, Death, Rape, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Body shaming, Blood, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Body horror, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Violence, Ableism, Chronic illness, Medical content, Self harm, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
chiawo'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Sexual violence, Self harm, Rape, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Grief, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Car accident, Bullying, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Eating disorder
isis_wm'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
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Self harm, Bullying, Death, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Torture
c_seonjyung'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
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Torture, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Sexual assault, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Trafficking, Vomit, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Dysphoria, Excrement, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
Minor: Infidelity