Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

166 reviews

realjordanjohnson's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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

5.0

This may be the most emotionally devastating book I’ve ever read. What makes it so truly heartbreaking and soul crushing is that the horrors and traumas are real, that they actually happen to people. The emotions are so palpable, so realistic, so savage that I had to physically put this down and just cry- and I cried often. The writing is beautiful. The depictions of friendship, love, and grief may be one of the best examples of writing I’ve ever read. I will truly think about this book for the rest of my life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

appalachianaltuntas's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-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

3.75

Beautiful writing and characters that will stick with me for years. However it could’ve been a good 300 pages shorter, and more importantly, I think the portrayal of trauma was not done in a sensitive way. It makes me think the author has not been through any of the things she explores in this book, because if she had, she would never describe it in these ways. But rather, she uses this heavy, graphic content to shock and further her plot rather than discuss honestly. It felt voyeuristic and sadistic, not a sensitive exploration of how trauma impacts someone and those around him. That being said, my heart breaks for Jude and I’ll think about him every day now ❤️ Impactful book, but I feel icky about the author and I think the story could’ve been executed in a much more beautiful and gentler way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

kasumi_misty's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

themisres's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

0.5

I wish Jude freedom from this author’s horrid imagination.
The way I look at this book changed drastically after I learned about Hanya Yanagihara’s opinions about therapy (how she thinks it’s not really useful and some people are fvcked beyond help) . At first I was fooled to think she had a point with this book but after hearing her talk for more than half a minute, I was quite convinced that she wasn’t capable of making any point. This book is long, boring, and sad just for the sake of it. I kept reading with hopes that it would pick up a little. But it didn’t. I paid a lot of money for this book in my country’s currency, and that was the only motivation I had to finish it.
Reminder for my future self: If a book has like 50 or so content warnings, maybe don’t read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

ethanlowden's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

5.0

Yanagihara is a sadist; both to every character in the book and to the reader, for making them endure the miseries of this beautifully disturbing book.

I have never read a book so hopeful yet so hopeless; watching a car crash without a predetermined outcome in slow motion.

So hopeful that things will turn around for Jude, that he will finally be at peace and find joy in his life. But feeling so hopeless, that he has had to experience all of these horrific things, that he thinks he is deserving of them. And ultimately feeling both once he decides to die, hopeful that everyone around him can find peace but also hopeless that it got to that point.

Despite the beautiful prose and story telling of the book, written in such a way which entices the reader, giving breadcrumbs of Jude’s story until it is finally all revealed, there are several issues I have with it. 

SPOILERS BELOW!!

Ultimately I believe that the believability of the story is lacking. Firstly all the hardships and abuse Jude has to suffer, and then how he is unable to overcome this but still thrive within his professional life and be a “functioning” human. Secondly the successes of him and all of his friends, despite their somewhat humble beginnings within very competitive fields.

Furthermore, the way in which all of his friends are able to surround him and support him during all of this, when in reality they would have abandoned him. How quickly the Jude x Willem relationship arose and how their sex life was explored, with Willem unrealistically cheating on him with women.

I also did not appreciate how the tone of the book shifted from the initial dynamic of their friendship group to how much misery can we make Jude withstand. Personally I feel the abuse and “clients” endured became repetitive and just honed in a point which was already established, purely to shock the reader without adding more depth to Jude’s character. At points it felt like what other ailment and trauma can we give Jude now?

The love story with Willem and Jude is beautiful and haunting. The feeling of desperation to keep a partner and their memories was especially moving. When Jude describes missing Willems scent and doing anything to keep that smell I was reminded of similar moments in my life.

The ending of the book is absolutely devastating, with the final 5 pages being what made be bawl. However, the fact that for the previous 500 pages we had to endure Jude’s suffering from his perspective, I felt the audience where cheated of discovering Jude’s final thoughts and instead reliving the moment through Harold’s eyes.

Harold and Jude’s relationship is also beautiful yet very unrealistic. The final chapter gives a clear sense of the dynamic changes, and how much Harold loved Jude, how he cared for him even when Jude reverted to childlike tendencies, and how he finally was able to live as a normal child, now as a 50 year old man. Harold’s final thoughts about Jude are heart breaking and perfectly describe how the reader views Jude’s nihilism and self hatred, and how everyone wanted him to live, but ultimately knew his fate was inevitable.

My biggest issue overall with the book is the glamorisation of suicide. Jude is written as a character who has it all, a healthy family dynamic, caring loving partner, friends surrounding him and a good job. However he is never able to run from his past and his trauma, and thus it is implied that his only resolution is suicide, as the damage is too great to be repaired. But we saw his relationship with Willem, with Harold, with Andy, his ability to connect with those around him. Maybe I am too optimistic but I do not believe he was beyond being helped and able to live a happy little life, despite all his hardships.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

cleotheo's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

brutal and gentle
heavy and delicate
sad and beautiful 
I listened to the audiobook on 1x speed for the most part. It was beautifully written and very very long. 
Do yourself a favour and pick the abridged version (I read unabridged) and take the content warnings seriossly!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Outing

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Infidelity, Dementia, and Abortion

icbarka's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Rough read. It made you ask challenging questions. I learned a lot also. It fell a little flat though I had high expectations. It begged the question “when are you responsible for your own healing?” But also “maybe someone cannot heal at all” Life ain’t good for everyone. It was worth the read but I would search up trigger warnings for those it might concern. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

diabro87's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

stephmcoakley's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

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

nalinnvr's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.0

Finally fucking finished this! This book is infuriating. Yes, emotional at times, but I did not shed a single tear, which I believe is because of how angry I was at the author throughout the whole thing.
It is somehow beautifully written and a complete disservice to society when it comes to mental health conditions at the same time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Do not read this books without reading through trigger warnings.