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julianareynolds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
asphodel04's review against another edition
This book is trauma porn. I don't even agree with that phrase as a concept because of how it gets used to criticize survivors. But as one, this is trauma porn. There is a difference between writing a book that does not have a happy ending, and that reflects the often-true reality of living with a disability, with PTSD and other assorted mental health issues, with not being okay, and with writing a book that exists solely to torture not just its characters, but its readers.
Yanagihara is also not someone who should have written this book. Quoting here another review [@ellereadsomebooks on GoodReads (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3529182954) and Instagram, who provides a much more in-depth, less angry review]:
"• yanagihara does not believe in trigger warnings. she believes that it is “very dangerous to isolate oneself from information or art or history or news because the subject is painful”. trigger warnings are there so people do not experience severe mood/mind altering trauma when abruptly encountering something they are affected by. and in a little life, there is a plethora of things to be triggered by.
• she also does not believe in therapy. this led me to wonder if there is a connection between this fact and that one of the worst villains in the novel is a psychiatrist. i believe there is.
• she stated she did not research the psychological background or trauma responses of jude, the main and most traumatized character, at all. she said that “jude came to her fully formed”."
I highly recommend reading Elle's full review, but I also want to respond to this, which she wrote in the same review:
"one cannot be so reckless when writing subject matter like this. because these are real problems for real people. just because they are fictional characters doesn't make it any less real. writing about child sexual abuse or suicidal thoughts should come with responsibility[...] what is her message out there to readers, real, living, breathing people, who are survivors of similar if not the same things as jude? what is the greater meaning? yanagihara said herself that she wanted to write a character who never gets better. there you have it. it is the reader that suffers the most." (emphasis my own)
What I got out of my 100 pages I tolerated of A Little Life is that Yanagihara simply does not acknowledge the lives of real, living, breathing people who are can understand Jude on a chilling and horrific level. In a Guardian interview with Tim Adams, she responded to a question regarding the photographic inspiration for the book by saying: “Photography is always a kind of stealing,” she says. “A theft from the subject. Artists are assaulters in a lot of ways and the viewer is complicit in that assault. In the same way with the book. I hope readers feel a sense of entanglement in these lives; they are bearing witness to them but there is also something quite intrusive about that.” Not only does this flat-out confirm that it was Yanagihara intended to make her readers suffer, it (along with the rest of the interview) shows the morbid way she views and depicts the lives of real people's suffering: as a tool for her art.
TL;DR: Fuck this book. Don't read it. It's exploitative trauma porn. Content note/trigger warning: Yes. Everything. The warnings I have listed on this review are only the ones I read or know for a fact appear.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
riella_reads'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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
madgoosie'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
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
jessietn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Yes, this story contains many horrifying and unflinching accounts of abuse, as well as self harm. It was not enjoyable to read these, but I wouldn’t personally classify it as misery or torture porn just because they exist. In my opinion, the author felt that they were necessary to adequately explain the extreme behaviour and suffering of the main character. I would also add that abuse is a very real problem and that by reading about it we might learn how to better help survivors.
To me, this story was mostly about the failures of masculinity. It’s difficult to review it fully without spoilers, so spoilers now follow.
My main criticisms were that I found the abusive counsellor plot line to be somewhat far fetched - it’s not that something like that happening isn’t probable, only that the writing in those parts felt weaker and less believable - and that I did not immediately believe Willem’s romantic feelings toward Jude. I also didn’t feel that he would have needed sex so much that he ignored the very obvious reluctance of his partner to have it - this was out of character to me, not to mention painful to read, and one of the times when it felt the story was veering slowly toward misery porn. It was a relief to read him realising his own “wilful naivety” later in The Happy Years.
Overall, I thought it was an incredible book with so much love, but more heartbreak, and some very important takeaways. Check in with your loved ones, and don’t always believe them when they tell you they’re fine.
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Suicide attempt
juliacolley00'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
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
satana17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Hate crime, Racism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
denisescoffeebreak'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 think it was written beautifully, at some point it wasn’t reading but almost like watching the scenes of a movie right before my eyes.
We know from the start of the book that Jude is such a troubled character and that really does make you affectionate to his character - he isn’t against recovery, he just can’t excuse it for himself, he grew up learning to only allow pain in his life and that itself it’s such a difficult thing to unlearn.
There wasn’t any need for William to do a proper coming out, even his relationship with Jude didn’t really revolve around their sexuality but the respect and trust in each-other, so why is there a need to specify their sexuality? who cares.
The book was indeed very very heavy on the subjects but in my opinion it was expected - I think it’s not a reason to bash the book, that’s low key what it is known for, it is not an easy read, which is why I (like many others) suggest you check the trigger warnings before reading.
I sometimes had to put down the book to take a big breath but that’s what made me like it even more, it touched me enough to have a physical reaction lol.
One thing I didn’t like it’s yet another representation of a toxic gay love story, although again (sorry) expected in this book (that I know it’s not known for it’s”love story” though, which is good).
Anyways five starts because it really touched me and I couldn’t put it down. :)
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
teeps360'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: Ableism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
epiderma'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: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child death and Confinement
Minor: Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Vomit