Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Ein wenig Leben by Hanya Yanagihara

786 reviews

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: Complicated

Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with such brilliant character development. I found myself reacting out loud (ex: “No!” or gasping) and getting tears in my eyes on multiple occasions. And, even though I attempted to prepare myself for the ending, I still sobbed. This is a really heavy book with a variety of distressing topics; survivors of all forms of trauma should check out the trigger warnings. 

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was a beautifully written tragic story. You have to be in a really good mental space to read this book. 

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Truly heartbreaking… 
There are a few irks I have with this book which in theory should bring the rating down like the writing style being a tad pretentious in places, the start of the book being a bit confusing and slow, the lack of clarity in whose speaking at the start of some chapters , lack of insight into the other characters issues and mental health struggles… 
However I cried multiple times throughout this book and it shattered me at the end and I will reread again when I am mentally prepared 

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kittykaz's profile picture

kittykaz's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 24%

i dont agree with the "pointless trauma porn" stance that makes up a lot of the discourse around this book; exploring dark themes and sitting with these heavy feelings that follow the witnessing of traumatic events has always been an important function of art and an incredibly human fascination.
The Tragedy is one of the oldest forms or storytelling we have and surrounded as we are by the sensationalisation of real-life crimes, the amount of fame and power we grant perpetrators of horrifying acts and the exploitation of actual victim's pain for monetary gain by "True Crime" content creators, fictional stories are not the "morally questionable" media you have to have ethical qualms about.

that being said, I personally don't feel I have to gain anything by finishing this at this point in time. maybe I will come back to it one day but right now, forcing myself through this feels a lot like self-sabotage and an attempt of punishing myself for "forgetting how bad it was" as I am Healing.

Godspeed to you psychos out there tho. Please go to therapy.

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ouch. thanks

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Well written and devastating. Not one I can ever read again. Trigger warning for literally everything. 

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challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

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thekaitlinreads's profile picture

thekaitlinreads's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 63%

fuck this book

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A tender and solemn exploration of hanging on and letting go. One of the most simultaneously beautiful and triggering novels I’ve ever read. 

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was extremely well written but also highly distressing to read. I recommend checking the trigger warnings before starting to read this. I put off reading it for a long time because I had heard about how sad it is. The novel is very long and detailed. The narrative jumps back and forward in time. The characters were created in such exquisite detail. The hope, love, and kindness with which the various friends supported the protagonist throughout his life was expressed so beautifully. However the novel is highly distressing throughout and it has left me feeling exhausted. I don’t think I will ever forget it. 

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