Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Een klein leven by Hanya Yanagihara

1191 reviews

a8bhatia's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

enlamont's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

eaupaline's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

2.75

Honestly the more reviews I read about this book the more I realized I don't really liked it.

My feelings about this novel are rather mixed. Overall I liked the writing, the character and the deep sense of nostalgia that I had when reading it. I thought it said a lot of beautiful things about friendship and love, too. The characters feel close to us and we see them grow for so long that it's difficult not to get attached - my favorite were probably Malcolm, although we don't see that much of him, and Andy.

What troubles me though is the extremely graphic scenes of violence, and how deep we delve into Jude's past. It sometimes felt like trauma porn or voyeurism and I really don't think being that explicit was absolutely necessary and the only right way to convey the misery of this character's childhood. 
It's a very personal feeling but at some points reading about his past almost felt like a trahison, Jude's character being so secretive and dignified, it felt as if I was discovering his past without his consent, and I thought it was weird and clumsy. 
I didn't get this feeling until some point in Jude's story though.

The whole part about the monastery was okay to read, the part with Brother Luke a little less, and the one with Dr Traylor just had me roll my eyes.

It really seems so far-fetched and grotesque sometimes that by the 3/4 of the book I was eager to finish it. It's not that the depictions where unbearable - they barely are bearable - but I kept asking myself what was the point of being that gruesome. It's a shame though. It's an interesting book, but it could have been shorter, more well-thought, more intelligent, more sincrere. It's basically a disappointement for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Infidelity, and Racism

ajseyler's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I kept seeing the videos of "This is me at the beginning A Little Life" and "This is me at the end of A Little Life" so I put it on my list. I usually read a Wally Lamb 700 pager during the summer but I'm all out, so knew this was the time for Yanagihara. I seriously couldn't put this book down (which is saying something because it's like 700+ pages) - I truly loved it. I grew attached to the characters and their relationships, I became so invested in seeing what they would do with their lives and how things would play out between them. Yanagihara is such a fantastic storyteller - she has a way of weaving words together and making you feel powerful emotions. I was blown away at how fast-paced the book felt, it was a page turner for me. Don't get me wrong, the book was very difficult to read because of the heaviness of the themes, experiences, and ideas shared, but it was so deeply beautiful that that outweighs the toughness (take breaks!) I think you have to go into the book fully prepared [to be emotionally wrecked] but that shouldn't stop anyone from diving in - it is so so worth it. The beauty. The profound. It's just an absolute stunner of a book. Highly highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

lizreads10's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-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

4.0

A challenging read - not for the prose but because of the content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

chrisstibbs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

A fantastically well written book about difficult and painful topics, and the character development in this book is without comparison. The emotional depth of this novel is astounding.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Forced institutionalization

luciaeve's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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

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Content Warnings

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

rachel_emily22'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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, 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, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

cturn's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

Characters - 9
Atmosphere - 6
Writing - 9
Plot - 9
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 7
CAWPILE score - 7.9

Sad is an understatement for this book. Its hard to rate such a sad book for enjoyment lol. I see what people mean when they call it trauma porn but I don't see it as quite that. However I found that as a reader, the effect of each revelation of Jude's past was less and less each reveal, as if I was desensitised to it as more was revealed. I particularly enjoyed when characters were introspective and reflecting on their actions and both positives and negatives of their own personality, when they knew they were being irrational, etc - I think those were my favourite parts to read about. I didn't sob over this book like you see a lot of people on tiktok doing, but I did cry at the end and I will think about this story, these characters that we got to know so well, for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit and Abandonment

emilyg433's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail