Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan

32 reviews

thesvnthsense's review against another edition

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

4.5


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potterpav's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

wow. what a short but utterly compelling read. books about sad topics that handle them in a light hearted manner will always do me in and this was no exception! whilst i’m not giving this book more than 4 stars (mainly bc i thought it could done w more filling out of when they were young) it is still a beautiful piece of prose, it’s truly stunning. there were some lines in this book that made me put my copy down and stare at a wall for a little bit. but that’s exactly what these kind of books are meant to make you do - remember humanity and how the people around you are the most crucial elements of your life! 

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irislovescats's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

4.75


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itsccreads's review against another edition

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

4.0


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e11en's review against another edition

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challenging funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5


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holasisoymaca's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"What we had that day was our story.
We didn't have the other bit, the future, and we had no way of knowing what that would be like. Perhaps it would change our memory of all this, or perhaps it would draw from it, nobody knew. But I'm sure I felt the story of that hall and how we reached it would never vanish."


TW: drogas, enfermedad terminal, eutanasia, depresión y ansiedad.

Mayflies sigue la historia de James y Tully, dos amigos pertenecientes a la clase trabajadora de un pequeño pueblo en Escocia. Tiene una estructura muy particular: el relato está dividido en dos. La primera parte habla del verano de 1986, donde terminan la escuela y asisten a un festival de música en Manchester, y la segunda ya como adultos treinta años después (2017), donde James recibe una llamada sorpresiva de Tully anunciando que tiene cáncer y no le queda mucho tiempo de vida.

Su amistad me conmovió muchísimo. Desde las referencias a películas o música hasta sus travesuras, creo que el autor logró construir personajes y situaciones muy reales, muchachos con virtudes pero también defectos, y un espíritu rebelde que solo se tiene en la juventud. Si bien la primer parte se centra en el viaje a Manchester, también se nos introduce un poco a las vidas de los chicos y a la coyuntura política del país (recordemos que en este momento y hasta los 90, Tatcher es primera ministra) con descontento y agitación social entre los trabajadores y jovenes. Por eso podemos encontrar reflexiones sobre el clasismo, el racismo, la incertidumbre del futuro, la precarización del trabajo y la crisis.

En la segunda parte ambos ya son adultos con trayectorias profesionales, responsabilidades y familias, pero con una amistad inquebrantable por el paso de los años y un tono muy nostálgico sobre el pasado -y sobre todo, de aquel fin de semana-. Aquí se presenta el tema de la eutanasia, algo que no suele ser tratado en los libros y una problemática tan polémica que hasta el día de hoy tiene status legal (activo) sólo en siete países del mundo.

Voy a ser sincera: la primer parte es un poco pesada. Hay mucho lunfardo y muchas referencias a películas, series y bandas que, si no están acostumbradxs a leer en inglés, es posible que les complique la lectura o haga que se aburran, pero no lo abandonen. Realmente vale la pena llegar a la segunda parte y terminarlo por la forma en la que habla sobre la amistad, la juventud, el amor, la familia y las reflexiones que nos deja alrededor de la pérdida y la muerte.

"They say you know nothing at eighteen. But there are things you know at eighteen that you will never know again."

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annatroughton's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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bernard_black's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

First part 3 ☆
Second part 5 ☆
Joy divison references 10000000 ☆

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pkc's review against another edition

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

4.0

This was an achingly sad book in how it ends and the inevitability of the ending but a really sweet story of a nontoxic male relationship growing up in Thatcher ravaged Britain. I love the protagonists, though I found their dialogue reminiscent of Renton and Sick Boy (though the plots of Trainspotting and Mayflies couldn’t be less comparable) and it annoyed me slightly in places. Tully’s wife Anna really bothered me in places too, but with the subject matter, O’Hagan does a really good job of the light and dark of such a complicated debate. I will also say it was gorgeously written despite my occasional gripes with the dialogue.

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mollsyphillips's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful 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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