Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

231 reviews

jessietn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• 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

This was impeccably well written, one of the most well written books I’ve ever read. Although it is a very long book full of difficult content, I found it easy to become absorbed in the writing and read for more than 100 pages at a time (before promptly taking a mental health break for a couple of days..).

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.

The ultimate tragedy was the failure of Jude’s friends the help him. He had a wide support system of friends, found a family, and a doctor he could rely on. But all of them were men (with the exception of Julia, who is largely absent in the text; Ana, who is dead; and a handful of side characters) and despite their genuine love and affection for Jude, they fail again and again to realise the true extent of his pain, and/or to respond in an emotionally appropriate manner. The default response to Jude’s self harm was anger and frustration, directed towards him, only exacerbating his problems. It isn’t that they did not care enough, only that they were emotionally ill equipped to help someone who was hurting deeply (even Andy, the doctor, who should know better but treats Jude more as a friend than a patient). Of course, Jude was clever and hid everything very well from all of them (until Willem) but there should have been too many signs for them to collectively ignore.

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.

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Content Warnings

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

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

sad slow-paced

• 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

no sé qué decir de este libro, la verdad. no sé si me ha gustado o si lo he odiado a muerte, solo quiero dormir y ya está 

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Content Warnings

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

dark emotional reflective sad 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

This book broke me, but I knew what I was going to get from the get go and I think that’s where many people have trouble with this book.
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. :)

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Content Warnings

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

challenging dark emotional reflective 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: 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

challenging dark reflective 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: 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

martha_shawyer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book destroyed me. It has proved to me the existence of the purest, most unfathomable evil and the purest, most beautiful love. A bit of me will always stay between the pages of this book, along with the tear drops that will dry and crinkle the pages. I am so thankful for my little life. I love it and I love my loves. F*** you and thank for making me experience this, Hanya Yanagihara. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

tangledinblue's review against another edition

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? Yes

2.5

“So I am relieved that the turbulence wasn’t forecasted/
I couldn’t have changed anyways.”
- Mitski, Last Words of a Shooting Star
“My ‘not involved in human trafficking’ t-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt.”
- @shutupmikeginn, Twitter

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Content Warnings

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

claireallisonwrites'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

sydkounn's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

I tried really hard to like this book especially with all the hype that it gets, but this book is just that over hyped. Yanagihara has an amazing writing style which is why I gave it one start but this book really has no plot, no character development, and is really just filled will trauma that is extremely graphic and unnecessary considering there’s no real plot to connect it back to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail