Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Les Optimistes by Rebecca Makkai

9 reviews

juliej0715's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book. It was a slow start for me, but I also read it in super small chunks at first so it was hard to keep people straight. About 1/3 in, it really picked up and I couldn't stop thinking about it and reading it. It's so sad yet perpetually full of hope and love and friendship and caring, and reflecting on what's important in life. It was so good I want to read it again. I wish there were more books exactly like this one. I also loved it being set in boystown (now northalsted) Chicago and knowing all the places they were going around Lakeview and the city. Just so good overall.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Police brutality, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Genocide, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Toxic relationship, Pandemic/Epidemic, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, and Medical content

sestout's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Grief, Death, Medical content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Infidelity, Abandonment, Sexual content, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Mental illness

Minor: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcoholism, Bullying, War, and Police brutality

franklola's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Addiction, Police brutality, Chronic illness, Medical content, Excrement, Homophobia, and Terminal illness

Minor: Abandonment, Cancer, and Alcohol

addie's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Homophobia, Death, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Drug use and Infidelity

Minor: Addiction, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Racism

kaela_arcuri's review against another edition

emotional sad 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: Emotional abuse, Addiction, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, Abandonment, and Medical content

zosiablue's review against another edition

emotional sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book is how I was able to finally pinpoint that I feel grief in my chest and stomach. I haven't read anything this gutting in a long, long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Medical content, Death, Terminal illness, and Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Infidelity, and Addiction

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad 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

5.0

i thought this was just phenomenal. both storylines interested me and i felt so so much for the characters. this broke my heart but also put it together. this was devastating but beautiful.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Classism, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Grief, Violence, Vomit, Cursing, Hate crime, Death, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexual content, Addiction, and Alcoholism

ltulisiak's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-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

5.0

This was a poignant view into the gay culture in 1980s Chicago during the AIDS epidemic, along with the fears and repercussions that went along with that time. It was a beautiful story about friendships, relationships, sexuality, passion, and purpose that I feel will stand the test of time. It was a longer book, but I felt fully engaged throughout the story. The characters were lovable despite some flaws, and you really rooted for them. I would highly recommend this book! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Death, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Addiction

howwoolatthemoon's review against another edition

5.0

Ooooooof this book is so compelling and absolutely heartbreaking all at the same time. It's two timelines, popping back and forth, intertwined - the present, and Chicago in the 80s. Makkai figures out how to reveal things in the right order, despite the timeline changes, and make it all feel so natural. I would recommend this book to anybody and everybody - except those who had to live through this particular time in history - it's about a friend group made up of mostly gay men living through the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. And by "had to live through this time," I don't mean those who were merely alive at the time it happened. I mean those who were IN it, and anyone who has lived as gay man in the years since. It's beyond tragic how many lives were lost, and how many ways these men were made to feel like garbage. I lived in this time, as a child, in the 80s. I vaguely knew some about AIDS at the time. This book hooked me from the start with great storytelling, and really opened my eyes to the details of day to day life and death (although that's not the only topic it covers).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Medical content, Chronic illness, Death, Alcoholism, Bullying, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Self harm, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Addiction, and Alcohol