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robyn1998'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
3.0
-Very frustrating that Yanagihara zeroed in on all the most horrific and romantic parts of being traumatised and disabled and conveniently left out the more mundane and realistic parts
-Jude being a total Mary Sue, the best at everything despite having the worst life ever. He is the best lawyer in the world, keeps his apartment super clean, an amazing cook, a great singer - despite also being the MOST traumatised person to ever exist. As well as being in horrible chronic pain (but he doesn't take any painkillers because he's Too Strong and Traumatised and better than everyone else in pain). Some of the closest people to me have severe physical health issues; I also work with people with severe mental illness, many of which develop from incomprehensible trauma. And it does have an impact on their lives and achievements. It's pretty stupid and unbelievable that this isn't the case for Jude.
-How come Jude has so many friends who would do anything for him after the age of 16 (and why? He seems so boring and all he does is apologise) despite having the complete opposite before 16 and everyone having been evil to him.
-How do you get a doctor to treat you for so long without taking any money? What an absolute joke. Staying up until 1am every night to meet his patient at a diner? That struck me as not only inappropriate but also irresponsible. Is that just how it is in the US? I hope any other healthcare professionals reading this can also understand what a ridiculous premise that part of the story was - plus how naive it comes across coming from Hanya Yanagihara; you might want to help your patients but that's taking it too far and will only burn you out and wreck the boundaries between your personal and professional life.
-Everyone being so rich and how improbable it is. I got so sick of them buying houses constantly and jetting all over the world and speaking so snobbishly. The bit about their friend Roman's partner being unintelligent made my blood boil. I just get the sense that HY is a massive snob Absolutely 0 poor or middle class characters. Why?
-"Oh, we're all dying..." and other sweeping generalisations and cringey dialogie dialogue- just so unbelievable, fake and cheesy
-One thing I did like was the depiction of starvation at the end and how nasty a person can become when they're not nourishing themselves. I found it really accurate.
-JB- I liked his character and would've liked more of his story. I was enjoying the book much more when it treated its characters as equals rather than turning into a long pity party for Jude. I like portrayals of flawed but interesting characters who don't make the best friends, as I relate to having people like that in my life. Malcolm felt extremely underdeveloped though and seemed to just fall off the face of the earth once he got married.
-To anyone who has felt a similar way to me about this book: I would urge you to read The Heart's Invisible Furies - it's tragic, made me cry but also was so funny and big-hearted, unlike this book. You can tell the author has experienced some of what he's writing about, and you can tell he wants you to enjoy reading it rather than just trying to shock and upset you. Also it includes world events and is educational, unlike this book which seemingly happens in a vacuum.
- I would like to see what the rest of Hanya Yanagihara's books are about. I think she is very talented but this story was just extremely grating to me.
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Ableism, Eating disorder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Car accident, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, and Body horror
aalayah'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: Body shaming, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Violence, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicide, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Rape, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Blood, Dysphoria, Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Vomit
moomoochamp'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
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Self harm, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Ableism, and Medical trauma
Minor: Abandonment, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Acephobia/Arophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Fatphobia, and Vomit
dairyfreemozzarella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
on a seperate note i think the back cover should reflect more of the pure agony of this book OR there should be a list of trigger warnings in the begining. i was not prepared!
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Medical trauma, Ableism, Blood, Grief, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Trafficking, Violence, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Medical content, Mental illness, Torture, Drug use, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Body horror, Car accident, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Excrement, Kidnapping, Stalking, Eating disorder, Outing, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Vomit, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cursing, and Dementia
despuesdeleer'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
Cuando vi las reseñas de este libro por primera vez, la mayoría se reducían a frases como "te cambia la vida" o "te destroza por completo". También escuché que la autora lo escribió intencionalmente tan duro para que la gente no pudiera terminarlo (cosa que no creo en absoluto).
No negaré que es una obra increíble, logra una narrativa que te envuelve a lo largo de sus mil páginas sin que te des cuenta, y la forma de escribir de Yanagihara es elocuente y hermosa. Sin embargo, también tengo claro que no es un libro para todo el público. Ahora que lo he terminado, solo puedo concluir que lo recomendaría con reservas, ya que no es una historia que todos puedan soportar debido a la exposición al trauma y a las difíciles realidades que Jude sobrevive. Creo que esta podría ser una de las primeras lecturas con 5 ⭐️ del año.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Drug abuse, Torture, Blood, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Car accident, Slavery, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Medical content, Child abuse, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Suicide, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
helena_sp_07'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, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Excrement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Ableism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Outing, Eating disorder, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Dementia, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cancer, Hate crime, and Torture
alisonannk'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, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Blood, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Child death, Chronic illness, Gore, Outing, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Trafficking
Moderate: Dementia, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Alcohol, Racism, Cancer, and Vomit
martha_shawyer'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide, Body shaming, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Car accident, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual violence, Torture, Eating disorder, Rape, and Sexual assault
pharmasyd'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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Death, Addiction, Blood, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
mth2flme'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
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Abandonment, Ableism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Car accident, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts