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megannicolemay_'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
4.0
Hanya Yanagihara writes the brotherhood of male friendship so beautifully, without a lens of toxic masculinity, the way male friendships truly are. Amongst the sorrows, there is so much psychological take away from this read, about the way we perceive ourselves in comparison to how others view us, the beauty of the mundane, and the inability to let go of grief.
However to any readers going into this book blind, check trigger and content warnings before getting into it. This book was far more graphic and content heavy than I originally anticipated even with being aware of some of the triggers contained in the story.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Car accident, Abandonment, and Alcohol
joana_fsa'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
4.25
A narrativa gira em torno de Jude, um dos 4 amigos cujas vidas acompanhamos ao longo do livro. Jude é-nos apresentado como alguém extremamente frágil e traumatizado, com um passado chocante, repleto de abusos de todo o tipo. A sua história é revelada aos poucos, ficando cada vez pior, dando ao leitor um sentimento de "desconfortabilidade" crescente. Além de Jude, acomapanhamos Willem, o seu melhor amigo de décadas e futuro companheiro romântico, que se torna um ator de grande sucesso e é sempre o apoio de Jude, até à sua morte.
É um livro de suscitou empatia da minha parte e conseguiu, de certa forma, abordar a questão de breviedade da vida e da importância das relações com os outros, sendo, desta forma, uma narrativa que força a reflexão sobre nós mesmos e consegue com que olhemos para a nossa própria forma de viver e reavaliemos o que temos e o que podemos fazer melhor, nomeadamente, em relação aos outros. No entanto, tem determinados pontos negativos que não consigo ignorar:
1. A vida de Jude, repleta de tortura, torna-se, a certo ponto, algo irreal, que dificilmente aconteceria. Claro que sendo uma obra de ficção é natural que possa ser exagerada de alguma forma mas esse não é de todo o teor do livro. Na minha perspetiva, a narrativa tenta sempre fazer tudo parecer real e visceral. No entanto, é altamente improvável que alguém sofra continuamente abusos, em locais diferentes, com pessoas diferentes e tenha uma vida de sofrimento constante, como Jude teve. Pesoalmente comecei a ficar com a sensação, a determinado ponto, que a autora tentou induzir empatia ao leitor forçosamente, escrevendo constantemente sobre episódios de tortura e auto-mutilação de forma gráfica e desnecessariamente longa, quase como se tentasse criar uma empatia "fabricada".
2.
Apesar destes pontos negativos, é um livro muito bem escrito, de leitura fluida e relativamente fácil. É importante mencionar que aborda questões muito sensíveis que podem ser um gatilho e que o próprio Jude e a forma como ele se vê e vê a sua vida (cap. Axioma da Igualdade, isto é, acreditar que porque tenho um mau passado e fui determinada pessoa, o vou ser para sempre e é algo que não posso mudar porque é uma lei da vida) podem também fazer surgir sentimentos menos bons se o leitor não estiver bem psicologicamente ou se não tiver um pensamento crítico o suficiente para perceber que Jude apenas pensava dessa forma porque era uma pessoa traumatizada e fragilizada..
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Suicide attempt
catarina187'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
This story tells us, among other things, about abuse, violence and mistreatment, but also about someone who managed to overcome his weaknesses and insecurities, with a lot of support from those closest to him. This book touches on very delicate and sensitive topics and is not for everyone. However, I can say that this was one of the best books I've read, not only because of the raw and delicate way in which it was written, but because of each of the characters that appear in this book, each one being more imperfect than the other, but nevertheless, showing all your emotions, in all their splendor. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this book to anyone, but I can say that this book completely changed the way I read and interpret the stories I read and changed my way of thinking a little.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Grief, Car accident, and Gaslighting
alaskanfae'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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
leezy's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
cnorman4405'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
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Absolutely beautiful, heartbreaking, and traumaticmennaesque'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? Yes
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism
rayyan3'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
Beautiful, haunting, painful
But why
I went into it prepared and consciously did not binge it for my own sanity but I’m still shattered
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
dkrawec'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
3.75
Writing style: Wow! I have not read such a captivating style of writing in a long time. This book is over 800 pages and I found myself speeding through it due to how well it's written. In a given chapter, a scene would begin, move into a flashback, switch to a future moment, toss in a vignette, and then return to the original scene all while being easy to follow and not lose the plot. It almost felt cinematic and it was clearly well thought out. It never felt circuitous.
The subject matter: Someone on Goodreads said this book was misery porn and I'd have to agree. Jude's life is gratuitously unfortunate to such an extent that it becomes frustrating (at times I literally was rolling my eyes, which feels inappropriate given the subject matter but it was just so much I was like, bro...🙄). It's almost as if all the events that keep happening to him are just for the sake of misery writing and less about what it builds for his character. The only thing that kept me reading was how eloquent and compelling the author's wordsmithing is. I definitely can say I've never read abuse, self harm or depression in this style of writing (which is kind of bizarre to say, but I do think it's a testament to Hanya's talents). However, again, much of it was excessive to say the least.
Fortunately, a lot of the material chronicles the main group and they're complex relationships amongst one another. Reading about how their friendships evolved over the course of their lives from college to late adulthood had me looking forward to the next chapter. I would say about 30% of it could have been cut out due to the excessive misery writing but the remaining portion was awesome. If some of it had been cut, this review would have been five stars without a doubt.
With that in mind, I would recommend it for the style of writing but avoid it if you do not want to read about highly triggering events surrounding self harm, abuse and depression. I'm definitely going to check out Hanya's other works because the style of writing was truly immaculate.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
evieold's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Not a fan of trauma for traumas sake as so many brand this genre and books like ‘My Year Of Rest And Relaxation’, but this does not compare as it has a deeper level of truth, of a real life.
A true masterpiece of what to live a life is like, and the emotions, contradictions, and trauma which can come with it. A book, although painful, I will read many times more, and that is saying something from someone who does not reread books often if at all.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail