Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

21 reviews

franklola's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death

Moderate: Child death, Rape, Terminal illness, Classism, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

Minor: Cancer

mirandaandtitania's review

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

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

The third book was my favourite of the three, and I definitely enjoyed it as a whole! The dystopian life was very interesting and Charlie's point of view was fascinating and also heartbreaking. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility, Colonisation, Death, and Terminal illness

Minor: Sexual assault

fionagerman's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Child death, Confinement, and Death

Minor: Sexual assault, Infertility, Homophobia, War, Pregnancy, and Forced institutionalization

catesm's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Classism, Cursing, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and War

celineh's review

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Not too sure about how the books were connected. I saw some character overlaps but not really… the deep connection I expect if  stories are being put in one book. Also, I felt like the stories ended as soon as started to become invested in the characters. But I have to admit: despite my critique, I really enjoyed reading the book (just not finishing it). And I adore Yanagihara’s writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Death, Infertility, and Terminal illness

kirstym25's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness

jw03's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Colonisation and Homophobia

Minor: Rape

libraryfiend21's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness

belovedsnail's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved To Paradise. Each book is interesting on its own, but the way they are woven together is a tapestry. It is not a perfect book (the pace in the last book felt a bit wrong) but it is a Great book— no need to be perfect. Loss, home, identity, displacement, sickness, submission, support, passivity and love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, and Homophobia

Minor: Rape

pollyflorence's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

It’s very difficult to put my thoughts into proper sentences, something coherent and something like a review, but I wanted to try and get across just how much I loved this book. 

I know that there will be a lot of comparisons made to Yanagihara’s previous work but it fully deserves, I hope it gets, the chance, the space to stand on it’s own because it’s so beautifully written and heartbreakingly crafted to a point that the last 100 pages or so left me breathless. I know that it’s a book that will stay with me for a very long time— which is something that I often say after reading a good book, which I said after reading A Little Life and The People in the Trees— but in this case the stories that Yanagihara told in the book, the characters she created, the worlds she built are so compelling and beautifully vivid that I’m sure I’ll keep revisiting them in my mind and be very glad to do so. 

That’s all that I can put into words at the moment— there are reviewers out there that explore the complex themes and connections that this book has— but all I can say is that I highly recommend giving this novel the chance it deserves. 

Thank you to Picador Books for the review copy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Death, Racial slurs, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness