Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

728 reviews

edelyra's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

sleepyriv's review against another edition

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

revolverreads's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Has TikTok bamboozled you into reading a 700+ page book by an author who doesn't believe in trigger warnings? If so, you might feel you deserve some emotional compensation. 

Although delayed by conflicting travel plans and illness, we finally managed to finish "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara.

For a book that covers extremely heavy triggers such as self-harm, sexual assault, complex racial issues, and living with disabilities, you would expect the author to have done thorough research beyond just asking friends. Unfortunately, this book is as disappointing as the limited scope of research that was put into it. It is gratuitous in its depiction of trauma, filled with unapologetically useless friends, and frankly leaves us baffled every time someone claims it will change our lives. Will our lives be changed because we will inevitably conclude that this was the worst thing we could have ever read?

This book follows the lives of four friends: JB, Jude, Willem, and Malcolm. They come from different walks of life and each has their own quirks. JB is an queer "artiste" and one of the Black characters in the book, along with Malcolm, the "architect," who is biracial. As a non-Black author, Hanya Yanagihara makes some interesting choices in writing the dynamic between JB and Malcolm, where JB constantly questions Malcolm's Blackness. The author is quite vocal about her lack of research, and the chapters written from their perspectives leave you feeling uncomfortable about how these characters and situations are portrayed.

The other two characters are Jude, the "lawyer" and the "trauma dump" of the group, and Willem, the “actor” who is beautiful but oblivious to the attention he receives. Jude and Willem eventually enter into a relationship so dysfunctional that it leaves you wondering why anyone would root for them.

This book might take 200 pages to become somewhat interesting, but it only takes a few to understand how toxic the friendship between these four is. 

Jude is undoubtedly the punching bag that Hanya Yanagihara uses to get her message across to her readers. Abandoned and raised by abusive ,onks, he eventually runs away with a monk who pimps him out and rapes him. After this monk commits suicide, Jude is placed in a group home where he is bullied and sexually assaulted again. He then runs away, giving sexual favors to truck drivers to get from place to place, only to later realize he has an STD because a sadistic psychiatrist found him, locked him in a basement, and gave him medicine to get better before sexually abusing him. The psychiatrist then drove him out to the middle of nowhere, ran over him, and left him with lifelong bodily damage.

Jude never actually tells his friends about his past (except for Willem near the end of the book), but they are aware of his issues, including self-harm and potential suicidal tendencies. He has a Doctor (Andy) who has been attending to him for years, yet none of his friends ever suggest that he seek help for his trauma. Hanya constantly tries to paint Jude as the ultimate martyr, but this only creates a narrative. By the last quarter of the book, it becomes so absurd that you can’t help but laugh as the miseries continue to pile on.

It’s a book we had very strong opinions on, and barely a single one of them positive. Be sure to tune into our episode of A Little Life and commiserate with us by looking for Revolver Reads: A Bookclub Russian Roulette on your podcast platform of choice, or simply @revolverreads on Instagram. We love getting suggestions for our roulette wheel, so feel free to DM us, or email at [email protected].

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

_natti_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

zuth6462's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny 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

Enchanting book, as you keep reeding you feel the shift in the characters, you change your view on the plot as the characters change. The writing is magical and ever so descriptive, although at time it felt as though the writer was intentionally adding sadness to the book, which sometimes felt forced. Overall a great read, something to read slowly, to mull over.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Medical content, Car accident, and Gaslighting

Minor: Ableism, Vomit, and Abortion

clusterf_cked's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

0.25

Torture porn. Only got through half of it. I was trying to push through but the constant trauma inflicted on Jude throughout the book was making me sick. The imagery was so thoroughly described that I had to read it all alone so that I could gag and cringe. It does not get better for him. Do not recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

alea_fsl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

1.5

Enthält geringfügige Spoiler
Der Schreibstil an sich ist ganz nett. Das Buch selbst finde ich aber aus vielerlei Hinsicht grässlich bzw. eine Zeitverschwendung. Die Geschichte ist, inhaltlich, unbewegt. Es endet, wie es anfängt. Jede der Figuren wurde in die Welt gesetzt, um aufgegeben zu werden. Jede Entwicklung, wenn es denn eine gab, wurde schlussendlich rückgängig gemacht, zumindest was die Hauptfiguren betrifft. Es kam mir vor, als wäre es schlechthin verboten, dass die Geschichte einer einzigen Person ein positives Ende nehmen dürfe.
Daraus würde ich eigentlich schließen, dass die Geschichte Hoffnungslosigkeit ausdrücken soll, die Hoffnungslosigkeit einer Person, die im Suizid endet. Dem ist jedoch nicht wirklich der Fall. Es werden im Verlauf, gerade Richtung Ende die Wünsche, die Innersten des Protagonisten verwirklicht und das Ergebnis ist dasselbe. Würde ich als suizidale Person dieses Buch lesen, würde es mich von einer einzigen sChe überzeugen. Es kann schlichtweg kein positives Ende für mich geben, es gibt keinen Ausweg, ich bin verloren. Denn selbst die Figuren, die zum Schluss nicht o. nicht durch ihre eigene Hand sterben, dürfen partout nicht glücklich sein (keiner bekommt sein happy-end, nicht einmal in kompromierter Weise). 
Das Buch empfinde ich als Hassrede auf das Leben, die Gesellschaft und ihre Instanzen und die Welt im Generellen, keinesfalls als eine literarische Bereicherung, geschweige als lit. Meisterwerk. 
Ich wollte bis zum Schluss nicht aufgeben, aber die Geschichte wollte sich einfach selbst ruinieren. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

grrtthd's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

2.25

*Spoilers*

What to say about A Little Life.

I read the book quite quickly, and even though the storytelling was mundane a lot of the time (there are some lovely sentences here and there, but also a kind of utilitarian simplicity to the language that made it easily digestible), I pretty much stayed engaged the whole time. I was of course horrified by what was going on, since the story baits you from the beginning with needing to find out what exactly the hell happened to this poor man. And that feeling drew me in at first.

I finished it on vacation, and felt emotional at the end, as so many others on the internet did. I even recommended it to a friend.

And then with any amount of distance I realized what it was, and my perception totally changed. This was not a tragedy in the artistic dramatic sense of the word, because the best tragedies have something universal to tell. A message to send at the mournful expense of its participants. And this book does so much more than kill its protagonists. Yanagihara tortures Jude for hundreds of pages before he is allowed to die, all for--what? It was like he had to stay alive just long enough for us to find out what had happened to him. And so when he finally ends his life, as he had been trying to do nearly the entire book, I felt complicit in his suffering for having read what came before. As if he was allowed to go because I was finished with the tale. 

There is a really overarching exploitative and cringe-inducing treatment of queer characters, which I won't get into right now, but feels wrong to engage with. As a whole, the story hits that weird true crime-type response where you have to keep reading because what is happening is so horrifying. And it feels wrong to participate in stereotypes of suffering that are so blown out of proportion to reality that they feel unnecessarily detailed and misfortunate, until it is sufficiently The Most Tragic Story Ever.

The book takes such a long time to develop, and the plot and secrets only come together near the end. And then when the explanations for his suffering finally arrive, it's impossible to sympathize with Jude anymore as an actual person. He is forced to absorb tragedy so the reader can be drawn in by tragic events, which gives him a sense of unreality and detachment from actual humanity. Actual humanity is where any great tragedy reveals its universal human truths, and A Little Life does not ultimately have much to say beyond what happened. Once you figure out what happened, it's finished.

Which is, in my opinion, not an engaging or cathartic reading experience, and a strange and unfeeling way to tell a story. It's a lot, in so many ways. Not ultimately for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

carlotta25's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Infidelity, Torture, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

rjaxn'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? It's complicated

5.0

Was emotional in ways that really make you have to take a breath. Though your emotions will be running, this book feels important for anyone’s reflection on this life we live. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Vomit