Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Ein wenig Leben by Hanya Yanagihara

1325 reviews

goldsoundz1997's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-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: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Medical trauma

ktbreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-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

4.25

Moving, dark and haunting. The writing really made the read valuable, even when the subject matter was particularly heartbreaking and painful. Hard to get through but overall a beautiful commentary on the life we choose versus the life we believed was chosen for us. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Ableism and Vomit

emmarauchtcamel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

i don’t know what’s going on in hanya yanagihara’s mind but damn this woman made my heart shatter into a million pathetic little pieces and called it a day 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Acephobia/Arophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

parkerjm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Infertility, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

featherinthewind's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

I can’t. Actually. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

izzycarpenito's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

i usually don't write reviews on here, but something had inspired me to do so cuz ive never been more emotionally conflicted about a book.

first, the good. i really enjoyed the first half of the book. i read it all in two hours. i enjoyed the characters enough, but i was most interested in the main character. he quickly became insufferable to me as literally nothing about him changes over the course of the book.

the bad then, the book is trauma porn, and that's not necessarily bad, but i didn't want to just read 800 pages of characters suffering. another thing that bothered me is that pretty much all the characters are static. the only one who went thru actual personality changes was JB. 

in the end, what's the message? i didnt pick up on an intended one, though it became clear to me what the author thinks. sometimes if youre disabled or traumatized or mentally ill youre better off killing yourself and i cant get behind that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Vomit

jacobandthefrogs's review against another edition

Just actual torture, I truly don’t know what would make her write this book but I hope she has been able to heal from it because I don’t think I will

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

enyasar's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, and Drug abuse

cari_'s review against another edition

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

3.75

This is a wonderfully written book about terrible things. It's characters are rich and explored deeply enough for readers to develop a strong connection to them, which makes the terrible things worse. There are people who I would never recommend this book to, and I would suggest looking up content warnings before delving in if you are prone to triggers. It is not without flaws, but it affected me deeply (for better or worse).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment

rgallo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

The haters will say Yanagihara is nihilistic and the best place for this book is on the bed side table of a sadist. To the haters: Try reading the book without letting your own discomfort lead you to reject or miss the beauty in the storytelling ❤️

At first Yanagihara’s use of a nonlinear narrative left me feeling confused and disoriented. As the story developed the purpose of this technique continues to be tended to until it is in full bloom. Jumping from moment to moment, memory to memory, without declaration mimic’s how while reflecting our conscious minds cling to moments of joy and pain without regard to logic. Our minds like the story do not process emotions or trauma chronologically—we are always moving through time. Reaching for the memories that have not happened yet and those we want to forget. 

As in life the characters of this story are complex and fallible. Yanagihara’s slow release of the characters experiences and mind spaces  allow you as the reader to make judgments, and then correct those judgments. In life we are quick to categorize and file people based on an action or a reaction;forgetting that we are more than just one moment but a collection of morals and experiences. Choices made by characters in A Little Life are frustrating, saddening, endearing, and everything in between. In the end the characters are human and experiencing life the best they can given their own ability to process and survive.  

With all of what I’ve said in mind…this story is brutal at times and difficult to read. In those moments a reader can find themselves feeling disgusted or uncomfortable—as if the authors main purpose is to harp on the pain and suffering of others for pleasure or entertainment. Others have said this is a book about suffering with no purpose beyond that. A book with no happy ending. As I finished the book I couldn’t disagree more. This is a book about being a live. A book about suffering and joy. A book about trying our hardest to fight the urge to cling to memories which bring us pain. A book about trying to escape to happiness—succeeding and failing at times. A book about the healing power of true connection and friendship. In the end our journey—like the characters—is unknown in life. We can only try our best. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Trafficking, and Medical trauma