Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Das Volk der Bäume by Hanya Yanagihara

22 reviews

maidinnah's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Audacious and horrifying, yet thrilling, The People in the Trees delves into the life and mind of Dr. Norton Perina, a brilliant, depraved medical researcher armed with terrifying ambition and a deep disregard for life. Yanagihara's detailed, alluring prose explores themes of hubris and abuse on an interpersonal and systemic level, and how figures like Perina become woven into the histories of entire societies. It's moral relativism at its finest -- disturbing, unflinching, and challenging.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, and Slavery

Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Minor: Death of parent

hanstin's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Trafficking, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Torture, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Sexism, Racism, and Colonisation

msefinney's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Child abuse, Dementia, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Racism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Excrement, Suicide, Slavery, Body shaming, and Suicidal thoughts

jpratt7's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Colonisation, Rape, and Sexual violence

risemini's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

two months ago i began reading this book and left it unfinished cause i was getting bored; the narration of the stay at the island was unnecessarily long and the least interesting chapter of nortons story. i decided to pick it up again a few days ago and i just finished it. im shocked damn. what a disgusting human being norton is. he's racist, misogynistic and a pedophile, idk how he can be dating someone in the end? and the fact that his partner thinks he's a great person? and also the fact that his partner decided to delete that part of the story when it was the most important one? but anyway, the fact that im actually disgusted means its a well written book, and very realistic as well. i forgot this was a fictional story at various points, the writer did a great job with all the footnotes and newspaper articles etc, there's so many details especially abt the island that im just flabbergasted that someone could create in their mind a story like this. im still confused by some parts of the story though, but this may be cause of the fact that yeah i picked it up after two months and didn't remember everything of what i had already read. anyways, unusual but good book, with a narrator that you'll hate. also explores the topic of colonization. beautiful writing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

chloecc15's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Incest, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Sexual content

daisylady's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Incest, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Child abuse, and Animal death

belleb0y's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.25

This was a hard read it is dark and you don’t want to like it but it sticks with you. It’s been awhile and I still think about this book often. But overall it was way too long and yanagihara knows how to make people uncomfortable just for the sake of it. Major major tw for this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Gaslighting, Gore, Incest, Medical content, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Dementia, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

burnt_amber89's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

It is hard to say that I loved this book, but I think I did, in a twisted kind of way. At least, I loved to hate it. It took a while to get into the story and even when it gets really good, the book feels long. The first 100 or so pages failed to impress me, but it gets much better later on so hang tight ! At the beginning, we get to follow the main character in his youth. He is particularly unlikable, most situations are rather dull and don't seem to bring anything. Be prepared for some graphic and disturbing descriptions of animal abuse and death, several times throughout the book. 
When the character starts his adventure on the island, however, even through I still found him insufferable (and misogynistic), I thought that the prose and the world-building were absolutely gorgeous, albeit still sprinkled with some graphic details here and there, that sometimes seem a little gratuitous. I loved following their adventures, had gotten really attached to the "dreamers", and could really visualize every plant, flower, creature, character... that the author imagined.
The last part of the novel is enthralling, I really felt strongly simultaneously for and against Vi, and continued to detest Perina, while also understanding, somehow, where he comes from. 
Hanya Yanagihara really has a knack for describing the most dreadful things in a beautiful way that brings out so much emotion in the reader.
I initially thought that the numerous footnotes would be a hassle to read and I thought I would skip them, but I ended up usually really enjoying them. It turned out to be an effective way of adding content and context, even though skipping then probably wouldn't alter the experience either. 
Overall, this is a very unique experience that I would not recommend to anybody, but if you like being challenged, if you want something both unpleasant and gorgeous and if you are ready to tackle the numerous, numerous trigger warnings, then you should probably give it a try. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Suicide

Minor: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Murder, Stalking, and Trafficking

booksbyjazz's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Excrement, Gore, Incest, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Ableism