Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

71 reviews

grboph's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.5

Wow. I think it's going to take me a while to process this one. It was, without a doubt, one of the best-written books I've ever read, and I hardly ever feel emotions about stories and their characters as acutely and strongly as I did here. The characters were also incredibly well-thought-out and memorable. However, I do feel that most of its plot was just eight hundred pages of the most horrible, trauma-porn-y things imaginable happening to absolutely everybody involved. I definitely did not enjoy reading this book in the traditional sense - I finished it because I wanted it to be over, and knew the bad things were coming but couldn't stand not knowing exactly what they were. Even with this, the last hundred or so pages were the hardest to get through of the entire book because I knew exactly what was coming, and I almost wish it had stopped at the end of the "Dear Comrade" section because then things would have been a bit more ambiguous and I could have feasibly imagined that the book would end happily. In short, I'm not mad I read this book, and I know I'll be thinking about its characters for a long time to come. I'm also definitely going to read more of Yanagihara's books in the future because the strong emotions I felt while reading this book are really a testament to how amazing of a writer she is. However, I don't think I'll ever read this book again or recommend it to anyone else, just because I don't think I could put myself or anyone else through that degree of emotional pain again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicide, Ableism, Eating disorder, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Chronic illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Child death, Addiction, Gore, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Confinement

Moderate: Abandonment, Stalking, Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Infidelity, Classism, and Terminal illness

Minor: Homophobia, Medical trauma, and Outing

luciiee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Ableism, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence

frootymeli's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

what the fuck was that

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Violence, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Vomit, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

novajhops's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

4.75/5 (rounded up)

This book has been the subject of significant controversy, with readers either absolutely loving it or absolutely hating it which of course, made me decide to take it on as a challenge. I personally really liked this book.

I have heard many people, especially book reviewers on Youtube, say this book is too horrific and disturbing to read at all and I would have to disagree. I'm convinced that those who are encouraging people not to read it because it is too disturbing to even imagine are people who have never experienced the SERIOUS mental illness that Jude does. This is not to say that they have not had mental health struggles, just that they have not experienced the thought processes and mindset that Jude did in this novel.

As someone who has had some of the same thoughts about myself as Jude did in this book, it made me feel, frankly, a little less crazy. Many of the things he said, no matter how sad and horrific, are things that I have thought before and it really made me feel seen and that there are others who struggle in a similar manner. Though I've never experienced anything close to the trauma Jude did, I definitely feel empathy for the things he was thinking and saying.

This book is definitely disturbing, difficult to read and heart-breaking but that does not mean it should not be read and experienced by people. It is not a book for everyone, that is for sure, but don't let other readers deter the intrigue you have to read this book.

CHECK THE TRIGGERS WARNINGS BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY. But this is a great book, a little slow at times which is my only reason for knocking off a star because it is a very long book, but an understanding one for many of us who struggle with serious mental illness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Abandonment, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Ableism, Car accident, Drug abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Cursing and Vomit

melisayasilem's review against another edition

dark 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

4.25

You could say that none of the characters -who you become very much attached to by the way- deserve what happens to them. You feel what they feel, go through what they go through. I knew what I was getting myself into before I began reading this book, but it still hits you hard. I didn't find myself as affected as others whom I've seen their reviews saying nobody should read this book because it is f'ed up- and this could be because I read this over a period of months instead of a couple days or even weeks. Regardless, it still succeeded to leave a deep impact.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Ableism, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Abandonment, Child death, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Blood, Cursing, Dementia, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Hate crime, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, and Excrement

Minor: Classism, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Car accident, Confinement, Excrement, and Outing

This book is not for the weak, it gets very graphic in some chapters and you might have to put it down for a bit. But it also makes you want to continue reading because you get very attached to the characters. Sexual assault and suicidal thoughts are very much present, to the point where you sometimes have to think hard to understand why the character thinks that way.

missantelope's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Read in small doses when you are in the right headspace. A very good book, worth taking it slow, and not binging in one sitting.

michelareadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Blood, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Vomit

lunimoony's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Alcohol and Deadnaming

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

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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

rodeorevellers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Death, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gore, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Torture, Trafficking, Vomit, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment