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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hanya yanagihara wishes she could write this
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(this version also contained 7 extra short stories at the end. I didn't read those ones so I'm only gonna be reviewing the actual novel and not the extra stories lol)
oh my god. I genuinely do not know how to review this book. this is by far the craziest, wildest, most insane book I have ever read in my entire life. I sort of knew what I was getting myself into when I first picked up the book at my local goodwill but good god I was not expecting that to this level. this book destroyed my mental health. the writing was absolutely sublime tho. I was speeding thru the pages, I was eager to keep reading. it was such an intriguing story and I just couldn't get enough of it. it's not only the story that fascinated me but its also just the psychology of all his trauma. the characters just feel so realistic and they are so well created it's actually amazing. I enjoyed this book so so so so much. my mouth actually dropped multiple times throughout the book bc of how shocking the contents are. please if you are planning on reading this book please review all the trigger warnings before doing so bc I did not and it certainly caught me off guard. and there are quite a few trigger warnings. I just feel so bad for Jeremiah and all the troubles he's been thru. bro especially the whole thing with him and his religious grandfather. oh my god that whole story got me so good. that was actually devastating. there were multiple points in the book where I actually just had to stop reading bc the story just got too dark for me I couldn't handle it. also some of the characters in the book are low-key racist too?????? like this girl says the n word like 10 times and there was something about Chinese eyes in there. yeah I did not appreciate that. anyways it was just an amazing story. I really appreciate how jt Leroy does more than just explain these bad things but rather she builds on these stories and adds the psychology of each character bc it makes the story seem so much more realistic and so much more interesting. like learning about how Jeremiah thinks is probably my favorite part of this whole book. the way he was raised just causes his mind to think in a certain way and at the same time it affects his narration of the book and it is just so freaking cool. seeing the relationship btwn Sarah and Jeremiah is just so fascinating. the love Jeremiah has for Sarah (if you even wanna call it love) is just so freaking interesting to learn about. I just can't get enough of it. also the last chapter was incredible. I think it was the perfect way to end the whole book. I think it wrapped everything about his psychology up very nicely. I just was not expecting some bdsm LMFAOO. this book has made me feel emotions no other book has ever made me feel before and I am so happy I got to read this book. but at the same time it freaking destroyed me so. it only just gets minus one star bc this is just not a genre I'd usually read and one that I probs will not return to LMAO. it's just a lil too dark for my taste. and those racist bits also did not impress me. but by far one of the most interesting books I have read all year. if you think you are ready to handle this book please read it. if you are not strong mentally please do not read it. also read the trigger warnings before reading this book. absolutely fantastic read.
oh my god. I genuinely do not know how to review this book. this is by far the craziest, wildest, most insane book I have ever read in my entire life. I sort of knew what I was getting myself into when I first picked up the book at my local goodwill but good god I was not expecting that to this level. this book destroyed my mental health. the writing was absolutely sublime tho. I was speeding thru the pages, I was eager to keep reading. it was such an intriguing story and I just couldn't get enough of it. it's not only the story that fascinated me but its also just the psychology of all his trauma. the characters just feel so realistic and they are so well created it's actually amazing. I enjoyed this book so so so so much. my mouth actually dropped multiple times throughout the book bc of how shocking the contents are. please if you are planning on reading this book please review all the trigger warnings before doing so bc I did not and it certainly caught me off guard. and there are quite a few trigger warnings. I just feel so bad for Jeremiah and all the troubles he's been thru. bro especially the whole thing with him and his religious grandfather. oh my god that whole story got me so good. that was actually devastating. there were multiple points in the book where I actually just had to stop reading bc the story just got too dark for me I couldn't handle it. also some of the characters in the book are low-key racist too?????? like this girl says the n word like 10 times and there was something about Chinese eyes in there. yeah I did not appreciate that. anyways it was just an amazing story. I really appreciate how jt Leroy does more than just explain these bad things but rather she builds on these stories and adds the psychology of each character bc it makes the story seem so much more realistic and so much more interesting. like learning about how Jeremiah thinks is probably my favorite part of this whole book. the way he was raised just causes his mind to think in a certain way and at the same time it affects his narration of the book and it is just so freaking cool. seeing the relationship btwn Sarah and Jeremiah is just so fascinating. the love Jeremiah has for Sarah (if you even wanna call it love) is just so freaking interesting to learn about. I just can't get enough of it. also the last chapter was incredible. I think it was the perfect way to end the whole book. I think it wrapped everything about his psychology up very nicely. I just was not expecting some bdsm LMFAOO. this book has made me feel emotions no other book has ever made me feel before and I am so happy I got to read this book. but at the same time it freaking destroyed me so. it only just gets minus one star bc this is just not a genre I'd usually read and one that I probs will not return to LMAO. it's just a lil too dark for my taste. and those racist bits also did not impress me. but by far one of the most interesting books I have read all year. if you think you are ready to handle this book please read it. if you are not strong mentally please do not read it. also read the trigger warnings before reading this book. absolutely fantastic read.
I've been wanting this book for decades, but it was hard to find it here in Italy. And when I've been abroad I constantly forgot to buy a copy.
So, finally a friend brought it to me from the US, but I'm now a little too old to enjoy it.
It's so '90s! And let's face it: tv went a long way into showing us battered and abused children, I developed a sort of resilience for this kind of fiction.
So, a 14 year old girls gives birth to a baby boy. He's taken into foster care and he has a normal life until, 4 years later, the real mother reclaims it. Despite being obviously unfit to raise a child, social services give him back to her. When we met Sarah's - the mother - parents we understand she's been abused too, but that doesn't excuse the physical and mental torture she methodically applies to her child.
We all know now that the book is fictional and J.T. LeRoy is a pseudonym, but I wonder how it would be reading it and believing it was a true story.
So, finally a friend brought it to me from the US, but I'm now a little too old to enjoy it.
It's so '90s! And let's face it: tv went a long way into showing us battered and abused children, I developed a sort of resilience for this kind of fiction.
So, a 14 year old girls gives birth to a baby boy. He's taken into foster care and he has a normal life until, 4 years later, the real mother reclaims it. Despite being obviously unfit to raise a child, social services give him back to her. When we met Sarah's - the mother - parents we understand she's been abused too, but that doesn't excuse the physical and mental torture she methodically applies to her child.
We all know now that the book is fictional and J.T. LeRoy is a pseudonym, but I wonder how it would be reading it and believing it was a true story.
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Écriture incroyable, mais qui rend le livre encore plus dur à lire
Even if the author isn't real, this shit was entertaining.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Painful and harrowing, and I wish I could just pick up the main characters and put them in my pocket for safekeeping. I'm a bit conflicted about the writing, as I couldn't put my finger on how unnecessarily violent some of the scenes were, but perhaps in a second reading or three, I might see through. In the first sitting, though, it took much effort to go through this without wincing. These characters, although fictional, are very real. And to be reminded of that is the horror the reader will need to confront. This contains a lot of traumatic events, and content warnings have been added.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment