Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Een klein leven by Hanya Yanagihara

1204 reviews

fran_____'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, 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, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

iluvshelby's review against another edition

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

paddles1704's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

1.5

 I didn’t cry, in the end. 

The pain swelled to a crescendo up until that final page, with an echo of hope that wasn’t really hope at all. I can see why someone would have been sad, but I felt numb and angry. I feel, now, that I wish I could just forget everything about it. 

If the purpose of the novel was to tell me that pain exists, and some people can’t handle it, can’t escape it, I didn’t need that written in over 700 pages. I have read about pain before, but worse, I have felt pain, I have met people and loved people in pain.

To spare you reading it yourself - Jude’s friends die meaninglessly and accidentally, Jude dies purposely and tragically, and after feeling bad for how he has treated those around him and refusing their help and acting horribly again and again, he leaves them behind to wonder what they could have done differently. So it is, with suicide.

Hanya Yanagihara wrote the ending, as an acceptable end to a life of suffering, which she spent 720 pages trying to convince me was too much. Trying to convince me that there is some measure of suffering which can be deemed ‘too much’, and that asking people to live beyond that line is selfish of me. Deciding not to live beyond that line is acceptable, as if they have earned it, somehow. 
 

What sort of ending is that? 
What hope does that offer the sufferer?
What meaning does that offer those who love people suffering? 

As I said – if the purpose of the book was to acknowledge pain, to flesh it out and describe it beautifully, ‘A Little Life’ does no more than walk someone to the edge of despair and leave them there. 

Perhaps there is no purpose – perhaps you are simply meant to cry, and feel something, and then close the book and put it back on the shelf. 

Either way, it was a waste of my time. 

Full review here: https://christianpears.wordpress.com/2024/09/15/on-writing-pain-a-little-life-review/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use

pikkumarja's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Tunnen ristiriitaisesti tästä kirjasta. Proosa Pienessä elämässä on kaunista. Se on yksityiskohdissaan pyörteilevää ja jotenkin kiusallisen tarkkanäköistä. Tunsin oloni epämukavaksi, koska halusin jatkaa lukemista, vaikka se tuntui tirkistelyltä. Rakastin ihmissuhteiden kuvauksia ja erityisesti Willemiä ja Juliaa. Näiden asioiden takia matalampi arvosana ei tunnu oikeutetulta, mutta on sanottava, että jo aloittaessani lukemista olin kriittisenä liikenteessä.

Mutta onhan tämä vähän liikaa. Yksityiskohtaiset kuvaukset itsetuhoisuudesta, tuhon graafisuus ja ylipäätään queerihmisten kärsimys oli turhan mittavaa. Yksittäisenä kirjana queerkärsimys vielä menisi, mutta laajempana ilmiönä (ja koska tämäkin kirja on osa laajempaa kirjallisuuden kokonaisuutta ja kulttuuria) queerit saavat kärsiä liikaa. Ei tämä silti ole ansainnut syytöksiä traumapornosta tai epäuskottavalla trauman määrällä. Maailma ei ole reilu ja jotkut ihmiset joutuvat kärsimään enemmän kuin on inhimillisesti mahdollista. Kehotan todella lukemaan sisältövaroitukset ajan kanssa, jos et kestä joitain teemoja.

Yanagihara onnistuu luomaan todella painavan tunnelman kerronnallaan. Kirja jää varmasti elämään mielen perukoille pitkäksi aikaa monestakin syystä.

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Content Warnings

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

jaydenmosher's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, 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, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

hidivamd71's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This book is so intense that I am in the minority of those who did not like it. The writing is beautiful, but the amount of emotional and physical pain described here is too much…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

maeve_simone'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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

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