Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan

10 reviews

crypticmetall's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

I picked this book up because I wanted to understand men... soft gently complex and utterly nuance men. Male friendship with a deep innate love for one another that isn't normalized in media. Seeing their story fleshed out in a way that felt genuine, understood and with a bittersweet end was a wonderfully sad experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Alcoholism, and Cancer

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

‘It can take a whole lifetime to know how to thank a person.’

‘He was making room for death, while, all around him, people arrived with new furniture for a different room altogether, a place of honouring and cherishing, where comfort and light are believed to obliterate the dark.’

‘Earth is all the heaven we'll ever know.’

‘'He lost himself… because he forgot that time had to pass"

‘Go gently with people's pain. It's the same as yours’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Cancer

emilyrowanstudio's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I am ruined for all future books. Somebody hold me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Death, and Grief

laurajordensharris's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Medical content, Suicide, Dementia, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Addiction, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

alisonannk's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Grief, Cancer, Alcohol, Death, and Drug use

Moderate: Cursing, Medical content, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexism, and Dementia

Minor: Xenophobia

mlaurie93's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

glittery_witch's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

 

Mayflies follows the story of two working class men from Glasgow: James, the slightly nerdy narrator, and his best friend Tully, who is always the witty, charismatic life of the party. 

Through their friendship Mayflies tells a moving tale about growing up, about people and society changing over time, about rebellion, about the importance of the music we love, the books that we read, the films that we watch, and about the precious nature of life. I absolutely adored the first half of the novel that takes place mostly during a weekend of gigs and partying in Manchester in 1986. These pages are bursting with life, the most vibrant moments of youth and friendship. The second half, set 30 years later, is sombre and reflective, and stands silently next to the first. O’Hagan truly achieved a wonderful contrast in style that perfectly underlines the development of James and Tully from hopeful young men into their middle-aged selves who are forced to confront the reality of aging, of fading into normality, and, most importantly, horrible loss. I preferred the first half to the second, but I suppose that is the point, since the story takes a tragic turn and is surely supposed to be somewhat uncomfortable and not too enjoyable, whereas the first one focuses on fun and adventure, and is extremely entertaining to read. 

I saw a few reviews which criticised Mayflies for its excessive use of pop culture references, and I can imagine that if you don’t understand these references, it might be a frustrating read. Personally, I loved the references, especially the musical ones, since they are mostly about music I listen to and love myself. (However, I will not stand for the Prince slander in this book – that is unacceptable!) 

I would highly recommend Mayflies to readers who enjoy (kind of) contemporary realistic fiction, to those of you who like a good friendship-focused storyline, and to everyone who wants to have their heart ripped out from time to time. 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia

christiemackie's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Medical content, Drug use, and Vomit

franreads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Vomit, Terminal illness, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

georgiawye's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cursing, Cancer, Drug use, Grief, and Terminal illness