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nrougely's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Body horror, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Grief, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Torture, Toxic friendship, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
_ayala2004_'s review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Self harm
biddymesschaert's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Eating disorder
sage_3's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Vomit, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Ableism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Torture, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Car accident, Sexual content, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Trafficking
i beg you dont try reading this. if you do please proceed with extreme cautiongabiharvey's review against another edition
- 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
i finished this book on june twelfth. jude took his life, once and for all on june twelfth.
this book - i am completely and utterly speechless. even though i just finished it, i can tell, i know without a doubt, that this book has changed me. in what ways? i don't quite know yet, but i know it has.
"'my poor jude. my poor sweetheart.' and with that, he starts to cry, for no one has ever called him sweetheart..."
"'my sweetheart,' harold says again, and he wants him to stop; he wants him to never stop. 'my baby.' and he cries and cries..."
what's the most heartbreaking, is the inevitability of it all. from the start, jude's exit from this world via suicide was always obvious, always something that wouldn't come off as a surprise. and yet, being human, naturally i held onto some slight hope that he would find happiness in the end, that he would be okay. in the end, when his suicide was revealed, it was both a shock and not one, because for me personally, i just gaslit myself so hard, even though the truth was there in plain sight from page one.
it's utterly insane to me, how real this book has become. i swear jude st. francis, willem ragnarsson, and all the other characters are very real people. i don't know how yanagihara managed to do so, i just know she did.
having a main character who is disabled, abused both physically and emotionally, and consistently declining in overall health for the entire duration of the book is, like i mentioned earlier, a recipe for disaster. however, this also makes the book something beautiful in its tragedy, where as the reader, you know to appreciate the good moments, no matter how big or small. seeing jude achieve happiness with willem was something beyond rewarding to see, even though it was never necessarily "perfect", such as willem's choice of ignoring the fact that jude was miserable having sex, and resulted in jude burning himself, willem throwing a razor at him, and the entirety of that portion of the book. But, when they apolgized to one another, and talked, my heart ached and healed in a way words can't describe. seeing willem continue to accept jude as he tells his entire backstory, from the monastery to dr. traylor, was something i never thought would come to fruition. for jude to see that he was still loved after that, it was something beyond describing. without a doubt, the happy years was my favorite section of the book, especially after willem and jude's talk about his past. seeing willem worry incessantly for jude with his wounds, his staying at home as opposed to working, his comforting him with his nightmares, telling jude who he really is, his waking up and holding jude so tight when jude wanted to cut himself, his motivation for jude to take care of himself, his crying at jude's bed before the amputation operation (i broke so hard here), his being there as jude was put in a medically induced coma, his reassurance to jude that harold would never do what those clients did to him, his presence as jude learned to walk once again, or when he seized in bed (and willem thought that was it, poor baby :(), or tucked him in bed after noticing jude's dozing at the dinner table, or helping jude take his final walk with his real legs, or teaching jude how to dance in the bathroom, or touring that famous structure in europe together, or treating jude as nothing less than normal as he sat without his prothesis, or spending hours in the hospital with him, or taking a walk with jude even though it worried him, or attending jude's work party, in which jude came practically running (i know he actually can't but as close as he could, i'm sure) to willem when he saw willem tug on his left ear.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, Violence, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Torture, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Abandonment, Cursing, Gore, Addiction, Kidnapping, Body horror, Body shaming, and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent and Vomit
luuaa's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
xosevenusagbadan's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Rape, Sexual harassment, Violence, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Ableism, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, and Medical content
mikkiokko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Car accident, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Adult/minor relationship
kalynnar's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Rape, Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Blood, Torture, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Violence, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Stalking
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Cursing, Death of parent, Vomit, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Addiction, Ableism, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Death, and Drug use
theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Hanya Yanagihara is an immensely talented author. This book is beautifully written, and you will feel strong emotions about all the characters, be it love or hate. Unfortunately, that means the ones you love will also break your heart, over and over and over.
The story follows four friends from college and the people they meet along the way—the things they’ve lived through, their successes, their struggles, the things they can’t overcome. Please take care of yourself while reading this book and know that you are loved.
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Bullying, Car accident, Pedophilia, Self harm, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Body horror, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical trauma, Suicide, Rape, Violence, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Death, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit
Moderate: Cursing and Infidelity