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jessica_serra's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Blood, Cancer, Terminal illness, Abortion, Addiction, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Racism, Abandonment, Body horror, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Chronic illness, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, and Violence
isaac_salle'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
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Death, Dementia, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Blood, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Trafficking, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Toxic friendship
kirsty_irwin'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
Graphic: Dysphoria, Drug use, Body horror, Addiction, Ableism, Abandonment, Stalking, Racism, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Cursing, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Child death, Alcohol, Bullying, Dementia, Violence, Torture, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Rape, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Medical content, Homophobia, Death, Sexual content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Grief, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Car accident, Biphobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Cursing, Acephobia/Arophobia, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug abuse
Minor: Dementia, Incest, Miscarriage, Car accident, Outing, Cancer, and Child death
hammy_down'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
4.75
Graphic: Cursing, Body horror, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Ableism, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Outing, Chronic illness, Cancer, Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Rape, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Child death, Child abuse, Car accident, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Torture, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Pedophilia, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Eating disorder, and Domestic abuse
buzzard'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
0.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Blood, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, Medical content, Cancer, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, and Bullying
sinjinsladle'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: Violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Ableism, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Cursing, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Hate crime, Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Misogyny, Cancer, Vomit, and Racism
ficteon'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: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Death, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Car accident
uhjoa'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
2.5
Graphic: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death of parent, Medical content, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Outing, Pedophilia, Self harm, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Vomit, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Suicide
mariethebibliophile'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
4.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Dysphoria, Drug use, Eating disorder, Vomit, Violence, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Ableism, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Self harm, and Medical content
DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTObooksjessreads'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
I liked elements of this book, and at the end, I did cry (which is unusual for me as I don't cry at books at all.) When I say that this book will take you through perhaps every emotion imaginable, I mean it. I was honestly bored for the first 150-200 pages, I was happy when the characters were, I was sad, angry, anxious, confused and in despair when they were too. The writing was for the most part, so vivid I felt like I was there with them, experiencing these events, emotions, conversations etc. with them. Every emotion.
Willem and Harold, as well as wanting a good outcome and recovery for Jude, perhaps were my main reasons for staying with the book was these two (as well as Malcolm or JB to be honest
Naturally, my heart went out to Jude as he has put up with a gratuitous amount of trauma in this novel. The way that he behaves only reflects the stress and torture his character was made to put up with. This brings me onto one of the points that I really disliked about this book, the fact that the trauma feels so aggressively enforced upon these characters that it is, to me, quite unrealistic. I daresay that there are people in the world that have gone through what Jude has been through, but his persistent torture, coupled with other events and certain characters, just makes it seem illusory.
This is then leading me onto my next point, that the trauma entrenched in this book is not specific to A Little Life, but it appears (I haven't read her other books, but know enough about her others to know this applies) that this trauma is particularly aggressive towards the LGBTQIA+ characters in her other works. This furthers my issue in that Yanagihara is a straight woman, writing particularly in-depth, graphic and intricate stories of gay men. I feel here, she should have passed the mic and let gay men's voices be heard. Furthermore, her performance of trauma amongst her LGBTQIA+ folk is only contributing to associating queerness with trauma. There is raising awareness of LGBTQIA+ trauma, but this goes too far - there is also having power over the course of your characters lives, denying them the joy they well and truly deserve.
So overall, mixed thoughts. Don't get me wrong, the writing in this is honestly beautiful. Her writing has warmth and kindness, its respectable to the situation, its really creates a vivid picture of the events that occur in the book. It goes without saying that trigger warnings must be checked before you delve into this as the language used throughout this novel is extremely graphic, so much so that you feel as though you are physically there, watching it all unfold.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
Moderate: Car accident, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Drug use, and Cancer