Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

138 reviews

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. 

---

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

szucker6'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This is obviously not a book one “enjoys,” but it wasn’t until the last third of the book that I felt immense appreciation for the story and truly drawn in. At times I wanted to rate it two stars, but the end was so strong so I’m going to say 3 for now. Still processing…

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, and Fatphobia

Minor: Infidelity and Cancer

I have never selected so many trigger warnings for one book

mushroomgirl72's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

Please be very careful and do your research on potential triggers before reading this book. It was very difficult to get through and I had to take breaks from time to time. There are a lot of difficult, graphic themes. However, as a survivor of trauma this book did help me feel understood. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Addiction, Body horror, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Ableism, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Trafficking, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

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

---

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

stellabyproxy'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Vomit, Ableism, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Pedophilia

beccabookworm'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

3.0

This is the most tragic and emotionally draining book I've ever read. I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing or as something that counts against my rating of the book. In a Vulture article the author wrote about the book, she basically says that she sought to write a tragic novel that gets darker and sadder and more "sick" (her word) as the narrative progresses. I think she succeeded in that. In fact, although I found myself getting frustrated with and fatigued by all the constant tragedy, knowing that that was the author's intentions actually raises the book in my estimation because it shows the skill of the writer to create exactly what she set out to create.

Of course, there's no way to know - unless you read interviews and reviews before reading the book - the extent of the tragedy and darkness, or that it progresses the way it does. That said, while I understand the "tragedy porn" comments, I don't agree with the sentiment behind them. Maybe it is tragedy porn, but so what? It's supposed to be. While this novel is a portrait of a life and set in the real world, I don't think it's meant to be true and authentic to life and a conceivably real person's story. Some positive reviewers have held this novel up as a beautiful and honest portrait of queer men's lives. Maybe I don't have a right to say this because I'm not a queer man, but I don't agree with that either. I think the goal of writing a book wherein everything gets darker and more tragic as it progresses and never really gets light again save for brief sparks of fading light is contradictory to writing an honest portrait of life. Yes, people live tragic lives and it doesn't always get better, but life ebbs and flows and there's usually some hope to latch onto. Whether or not you believe that hope is futile, there is still hope.

That is not the case in this story. It is almost a complete downward trajectory with tiny blips of peace or semblances of happiness. The longest section is called "The Happy Years" and most of that section is not happy. You feel that happiness towards the end of the section, but then the section ends with a terrible, last straw, throw-the-book-across-the-room-in-anger thing happening. The very existence of Jude as a character (though not to discount anyone who's lived through horrible experiences) presents a kind of over-the-top tragedy when applied to a single person. Almost every extreme violent trauma he could be subjected to, he was. For those reasons, this book is not, to me, reflective of real life big picture. So, it should not be read/reviewed that way. From my understanding, it's just supposed to be a sad book for the sake of being sad. The fact that it succeeds in that is, to me, commendable.

There were some elements I really didn't like, particularly some of Yanagihara's treatment of race and sexuality. This includes the early insinuation that "real Haitians" in New York were so perpetually poor that they would and could never rent out an art studio space separate from their living space; Malcom lamenting not being Black enough because he didn't see himself as a wounded, perpetually angry victim; Harold's assertion that the 13th amendment is the remains of politics past and, therefore, not sexy enough to write about (which I admittedly don't even know what that means); Harold enjoying provoking JB to make "outrageous and borderline racist statements," which means JB was all too ready to make such statements; and presenting no counter to characters insisting that Willem is gay when he starts dating Jude, completely ignoring his decades of dating and sexual history with all the women he's loved and slept with in long-term relationship and casual hookups. Yes, Yanagihara is a brilliant writer for writing this story the way she wanted to, but she also wrote characters who are really crappy people. They're not even crappy in an entertaining and redeemable way - they just suck.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Grief, Medical trauma, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, and Ableism

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, and Terminal illness

Minor: Infidelity, Dementia, and Biphobia

yolie'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Medical content

Moderate: Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, and Fatphobia

How much is too much? And will it ever be enough? Can you love someone enough to save them from their own thoughts and actions? Can one human experience too much pain? These are some of the questions I have been left with after finishing this novel. It’s gut-wrenching and absolutely heartbreaking but it’s a novel despite how much I put it down because I was exhausted from the action unfolding, I found myself going back to it, always with the hope that things will be different now. There are a number of difficult and harrowing passages in the book, but there’s chapters of intimacy and such gentleness and care between the characters. You’ll grow it love all the characters and have frustration with them and their decisions. I commend Hanya for being able to write a novel that had be going back, despite how horrified I was by what was unfolding. I also wonder was all that necessary? If the book were 200 pages shorter and the events that take place less would this not have been an even more powerful book and not one that sometimes feels like “how much can I test the reader to stick with this until the end?”

leezavh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

Oh god. Why did I do this to myself. First of all, let me confirm, this is every bit as sad as everyone says it is. Just devastating. I've had a pit in my stomach for days, and probably days to come, because of this book. I've literally lost my appetite. But it was so worth it. This is probably the best thing I've read all summer. The writing is (sometimes painfully) vivid and descriptive, and the blunt yet poetic tone perfectly encapsulates Jude's personality. The core relationships in his life are well developed and realistic, and the constant up and downs of his mental health kept me invested for all 814 pages. When it happened, and those who've read this know what I'm talking about, my heart dropped to my stomach and my hands actually started shaking. It felt like getting shot. Again, I don't think I can fully convey how gut-wrenching this whole thing is. However, one thing Yanagihara does really well is punctuating the sad parts with happier (or at least neutral) parts, which not only gives the reader a break, but also keeps the sadness from getting repetitive and actually makes the sad parts even sadder by comparison. I recommend marking parts that you really liked or that you thought were happy to look back on later, because trust me, you'll need it. My main gripe with this book is that basically the entire plot is predicated on the fact that

nobody forced Jude into therapy or a psych ward or something after the things he did to himself. Sure, it was strongly advised, but all the people in his life let him go on for years without stopping him, without getting him to talk about what happened to him. It's probably the most unrealistic part of the book for me. Especially in his adolescence. Like the authorities rescued this fifteen-year-old from a crazy kidnapper-rapist who had run him over with his car (this is after he prostituted himself for months to escape from a sexually abusive boys' home, which he was placed in after being rescued BY THE AUTHORITIES from a crazy sexually abusive priest, who was also prostituting him out for money) and nobody said, "hey, maybe we should get this kid some meds? Or a child psychologist? So that he's not irreparably damaged for life with no ability to talk about his trauma?" and then his social worker also never made him talk about it? Even when she knew she was dying and that she had very limited time to help this kid? Idk, it broke my suspension of disbelief at times

. Apart from that, the traumatic events were always grounded enough to feel realistic. Now that I've written this review I'm going to lie down on my carpet and stare at the ceiling for a while, hopefully long enough to erase the events of this book from my mind and go back to living a normal, well-adjusted life

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Body shaming, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Torture, and Trafficking

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Stalking

soumya_singhal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Addiction, Colonisation, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Biphobia, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cannibalism, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and Toxic friendship

hamletslover's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

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