Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

1461 reviews

dominika_benmichael's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Torture, Suicide, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Death, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Self harm, Car accident, Child abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

sage_3's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

i tried so hard to not read this book. to never pick it up. i couldnt :). and now after finishing it i feel so empty from inside. i cried a lot while reading the last 3 chapters. i cried at the ending of it. and now i wanna cry again at the thought that i cant read more of it because i finished it but there are no more tears left in me. i would be sobbing on the floor right now if i could get my tears to form. but alas. i cant in good conscience recommend this to anyone because i think no one should ever read this book. if you decide to read it still just know that when people were telling you it’s heavy and were crying on the internet because of it, it wasnt a marketing strategy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Vomit, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Ableism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Torture, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Car accident, Sexual content, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Trafficking

i beg you dont try reading this. if you do please proceed with extreme caution

sallyrooneystanclub's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Self harm, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Ableism, Biphobia, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Car accident, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Rape, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, and Alcoholism

shakedown1994's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Body shaming, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Vomit, Drug use, Grief, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Pedophilia

amandaantonitti's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Blood, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Torture, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Chronic illness, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Suicide, Sexual content, Self harm, Rape, Sexual violence, and Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Dementia, and Car accident

kgraham23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Body shaming, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Cursing, Vomit, Death, and Kidnapping

Minor: Drug abuse, Child death, and Car accident

sarahoza's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Self harm, Violence, Sexual assault, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Child abuse, and Blood

emmah27's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

A beautifully written book, with changes of perspective and tense which help you connect to the characters. However, the most beautiful and emotive parts of the book are the subtleties of every day life and of grief, the explicit, traumatic scenes feel unnecessary and over the top and distract from the more powerful emotions which are captured perfectly. 
The book could have been just as good and you could have just as much connection to Jude without so many horrors in his back story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual violence, Child death, Mental illness, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Grief, Blood, Death, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Pedophilia

stephanieelyse's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• 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

3.5

This book is certainly thought provoking in that I have a lot of thoughts…

How is JB the only one who had a drug addiction? 
That is certainly a lot of villains in one persons life.
The Dr Traylor section felt like part of a horror novel.
Being a top litigator defending big pharma…and still being a sympathetic character…is certainly a testament to good writing. 
Did that need to be included?
Did THAT need to be included? 
Did I need to read that, really?
I have heard the author has some…opinions…on therapy, but I feel like this is a strong argument for making therapy more accessible to be able to support survivors early and throughout…

It’s a book I don’t feel I could ever recommend to anyone, I feel like there are much less traumatising character studies that are just as impactful, if not more so. 
The moments expanding and exploring the characters friendships and relationships were very well done and a true highlight. 
Harold was my favourite character by far.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Rape, Eating disorder, Death, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Cancer

sumnermayla's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Suicide, Rape, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Death, Abandonment, Self harm, Car accident, and Chronic illness