Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Una vita come tante by Hanya Yanagihara

74 reviews

swynne's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

Devastating and addicting. I’ve never felt so attached to a book and it’s characters. This will be one I reread and recommend for years to come.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Self harm, Rape, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Eating disorder, Drug use, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Stalking and Vomit

monaliest's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Child death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Rape, Suicide, and Torture

pipchiappa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

If you are considering this book, please read the trigger warnings. Most importantly, take them seriously. I didn’t…
Yanagihara’s writing is so real, so raw, it’s truly beautiful work––but that means that her realism is so poignant, her descriptions are so graphic, her characters are so vivid.
Do I think it is trauma porn? A little. I do think it didn’t need so much, and some of it could have been left out.
Do I think it is overtly graphic? Yes, it is very graphic. It didn’t bother me as much as I know it has bothered some people, but I think that is purely because I am not a visual person and don’t visualise what I am reading. I never read 13 Reasons Why but I did watch the Tv show and I hated it because I did not think it needed to be that graphic; reading A Little Life did not give me that same reaction, even though Yanagihara’s writing is so real and so graphic. If you are a visual reader, I think you have to keep that in mind before reading the book.

The only reason I am giving this book 4 stars is because I did think, somewhere in the middle, that it was so loaded in trauma that it was becoming unbelievable and it wasn’t necessary. I think the book could have been just as poignant without it. But, to be clear, I did not hate this book. In fact, the opposite: I loved it and have already re-read some pages here and there. Partly because I am not ready to let go of the characters. The writing is stellar, the relationships built are vividly wonderful and relatable to some degree, the commentary on trauma and mental health and friendship is remarkable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Car accident, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, Medical trauma, and Suicidal thoughts

hardxstep's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

karolaa's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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: Death, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Child death, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Slavery

ctama's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-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

4.75

I love this book. It's so dark, so heartbreaking, and gives you such perspectives of PTSD and how it shapes people. I only reduce 0.25 because there is this particular character that I hated because of how selfish they were.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

thatbookishgem's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

marley07's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Rape, and Sexual violence

zoebill96's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, and Vomit

joyfayrweather's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

I love this book, so, so, so much. I have read it, loaned it to a friend, and never got it back. Even still, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So, I found it at target and read it again. This book is truly disturbing and sad. However, it is still amazing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, and Slavery

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Forced institutionalization