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lia934'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: Kidnapping, Rape, Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicide, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Child abuse, Cursing, Medical content, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence
feral_andro's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
minor spoilers
I did not particularly like this book and don't understand why so many people do. The writing was not immersive for me -- instead of showing the reader who the characters are, all we get are endlessly long descriptions of the author telling us. I typically really enjoy dense writing, but it was not beautiful or original prose.
As for content, I still don't know how I feel about it. As someone who has experienced abuse, I just don't see Jude's internalization of it as realistic. Yes, there are elements of realism, but I think the degree to which he has internalized what he experienced is dramatized in the extreme and somehow takes away from the experiences of real abuse survivors .... though I have not yet been able to find the words to describe why I feel this.
(Possibly because in the end we're just supposed to accept that some people are too broken to be "saved" and are just destined to die. And as someone who has been suicidal before, I don't like this suggestion at all.)
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Self harm, Bullying, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Child abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Acephobia/Arophobia, Dysphoria, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
maisieme123'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Trafficking, Child abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Grief, Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Addiction, Blood, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Body shaming, Child death, Emotional abuse, Car accident, and Death of parent
xiumillion'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
Please check trigger warnings before you read this book. If you have a trigger, it is probably in here
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Ableism, Car accident, Confinement, Eating disorder, Addiction, Gore, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Suicide
holliejoy's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Stalking, Excrement, Addiction, Body horror, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicide, and Terminal illness
robyn1998's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
-Very frustrating that Yanagihara zeroed in on all the most horrific and romantic parts of being traumatised and disabled and conveniently left out the more mundane and realistic parts
-Jude being a total Mary Sue, the best at everything despite having the worst life ever. He is the best lawyer in the world, keeps his apartment super clean, an amazing cook, a great singer - despite also being the MOST traumatised person to ever exist. As well as being in horrible chronic pain (but he doesn't take any painkillers because he's Too Strong and Traumatised and better than everyone else in pain). Some of the closest people to me have severe physical health issues; I also work with people with severe mental illness, many of which develop from incomprehensible trauma. And it does have an impact on their lives and achievements. It's pretty stupid and unbelievable that this isn't the case for Jude.
-How come Jude has so many friends who would do anything for him after the age of 16 (and why? He seems so boring and all he does is apologise) despite having the complete opposite before 16 and everyone having been evil to him.
-How do you get a doctor to treat you for so long without taking any money? What an absolute joke. Staying up until 1am every night to meet his patient at a diner? That struck me as not only inappropriate but also irresponsible. Is that just how it is in the US? I hope any other healthcare professionals reading this can also understand what a ridiculous premise that part of the story was - plus how naive it comes across coming from Hanya Yanagihara; you might want to help your patients but that's taking it too far and will only burn you out and wreck the boundaries between your personal and professional life.
-Everyone being so rich and how improbable it is. I got so sick of them buying houses constantly and jetting all over the world and speaking so snobbishly. The bit about their friend Roman's partner being unintelligent made my blood boil. I just get the sense that HY is a massive snob Absolutely 0 poor or middle class characters. Why?
-"Oh, we're all dying..." and other sweeping generalisations and cringey dialogie dialogue- just so unbelievable, fake and cheesy
-One thing I did like was the depiction of starvation at the end and how nasty a person can become when they're not nourishing themselves. I found it really accurate.
-JB- I liked his character and would've liked more of his story. I was enjoying the book much more when it treated its characters as equals rather than turning into a long pity party for Jude. I like portrayals of flawed but interesting characters who don't make the best friends, as I relate to having people like that in my life. Malcolm felt extremely underdeveloped though and seemed to just fall off the face of the earth once he got married.
-To anyone who has felt a similar way to me about this book: I would urge you to read The Heart's Invisible Furies - it's tragic, made me cry but also was so funny and big-hearted, unlike this book. You can tell the author has experienced some of what he's writing about, and you can tell he wants you to enjoy reading it rather than just trying to shock and upset you. Also it includes world events and is educational, unlike this book which seemingly happens in a vacuum.
- I would like to see what the rest of Hanya Yanagihara's books are about. I think she is very talented but this story was just extremely grating to me.
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Ableism, Eating disorder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Car accident, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, and Body horror
aalayah'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: Body shaming, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Violence, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicide, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Rape, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Blood, Dysphoria, Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Vomit
moomoochamp'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: Emotional abuse, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Self harm, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Ableism, and Medical trauma
Minor: Abandonment, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Acephobia/Arophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Fatphobia, and Vomit
dairyfreemozzarella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
on a seperate note i think the back cover should reflect more of the pure agony of this book OR there should be a list of trigger warnings in the begining. i was not prepared!
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Medical trauma, Ableism, Blood, Grief, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Trafficking, Violence, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Medical content, Mental illness, Torture, Drug use, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Body horror, Car accident, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Excrement, Kidnapping, Stalking, Eating disorder, Outing, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Vomit, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cursing, and Dementia
despuesdeleer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Cuando vi las reseñas de este libro por primera vez, la mayoría se reducían a frases como "te cambia la vida" o "te destroza por completo". También escuché que la autora lo escribió intencionalmente tan duro para que la gente no pudiera terminarlo (cosa que no creo en absoluto).
No negaré que es una obra increíble, logra una narrativa que te envuelve a lo largo de sus mil páginas sin que te des cuenta, y la forma de escribir de Yanagihara es elocuente y hermosa. Sin embargo, también tengo claro que no es un libro para todo el público. Ahora que lo he terminado, solo puedo concluir que lo recomendaría con reservas, ya que no es una historia que todos puedan soportar debido a la exposición al trauma y a las difíciles realidades que Jude sobrevive. Creo que esta podría ser una de las primeras lecturas con 5 ⭐️ del año.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Drug abuse, Torture, Blood, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Car accident, Slavery, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Medical content, Child abuse, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Suicide, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail