Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Ein wenig Leben by Hanya Yanagihara

847 reviews

mikkiokko's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

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

This book could have been really great, but after finishing it I have quite a complicated feeling from it. 

There were things I took away from reading "A Little Life" that were either positive or cathartic (myself having quite a few similarities to Jude). BUT, I am quite concerned about what exactly is being suggested at the end. 

When I got to the end where Jude committed suicide I was taken a back and wondered what Yanagihara was trying to say about him going through with that after everything. At first, the line that caught my attention the most was Harold, in trying to understand Jude's death, saying; "It isn't only that he died, or how he died; it was what he died believing. And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him". I thought that by diving into the psychology of Jude and getting the reader to care about him, by taking him away at the end of everything she was perhaps trying to show the complex suffering someone can experience. And this line had me wondering if at the end Yanagihara wishes to push the audience to consider the cruelty they are complacent to and to retire that complacency (I thought of the ministers at the church who would stand by something so cruel in particular). Bringing attention to how what Jude so deeply believed about himself was created and perpetuated by cruelty. But then, I've seen what she's said. From my understanding she did no research for "A Little Life" and has suggested that some people are too far gone in their mental illness to seek treatment like therapy. I fear that with the previous line Yanagihara is suggesting that there are people whose beliefs (mental health) are so far gone that it is better for them to take their life. If that is what she intended, I am really confused because there are points earlier in the book that I would say suggest the opposite of her point. Ana's quote; "You'll find you own way to discuss what happened to you. You'll have to, if you ever want to be close to anyone" implies the benefit of exploring, discussing, and attempting to improve your mental health (and it began to work at least a little with Willem!) and that it is all a process anyone can do, but then Yanagihara insists otherwise? Yanagihara also provides wonderful moments OF JUDE BEING HAPPY!!! Of being amazed by how wonderful of people and things he has surrounded himself with. So, why give the idea that he should still kill himself? Why, whether you intend it or not, write a story that could so easily be read as suggesting suicide as an answer? It reminds me too often of people conflating a life full of physical pain as one not worth living. Chronic physical and mental pain are both extremely difficult and possibly never "curable" conditions. But they can still be managed and leave one with a wondrous and joyful life, that happens to be weaved in with pain.

TLDR; I want to say I liked "A Little Life" completely, but I can't. The ending is highly questionable and Yanagihara's commentary has only worsened my suspicions. I'm going to try to hold onto the positives I found or interpreted as there were things in here that meant quite a bit to me, but man can an author's dissonance sour a book. 

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Content Warnings

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

rebeccaalice93's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-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: Self harm, Death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Medical content, Vomit, Grief, Rape, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Dementia, and Car accident

shelbygibbs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Ableism, Car accident, Child abuse, Blood, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Rape, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Kidnapping

payson's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

anyatindale's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

does every trauma victim have the ability to recover? to what extent can the love of others heal self-loathing and disgust? can anyone ever heal entirely? what happens to a traumatised person when life does not exclude them from loss and suffering that hurts more than the trauma they once faced? 

a true depiction of the immense unfairness of life, and the love that must exist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Rape, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Mental illness, Grief, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

gulnaaz's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape, Blood, Physical abuse, Car accident, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Eating disorder and Drug use

kalynnar's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

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

PLEASE read the content warnings and heed them. This book is dark, and the subject matter is extremely heavy. Jude’s despair is the main focus throughout, but the story does delve into the lives of other characters.

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.

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Content Warnings

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

abby_grace04's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Blood, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Addiction, Grief, Medical content, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Torture, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Gore, Rape, Terminal illness, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Vomit, Violence, Sexual violence, and Adult/minor relationship

isis_wm's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

Incredibly well written. Usually I’d consider an 800-page book quite a challenge, but reading this went so easily. There were moments where I couldn’t put the book down, but there were also times it felt like I wasn’t progressing. I don’t deny the fact that it’s a great book, but I do think that the author kept on stacking trauma upon trauma to make the main character’s suffering even more intense even though just a singular traumatic event would have defined him already. I don’t see the need for so much suffering here, not because it hurt me to read that but because it was simply not necessary. The severity of trauma is not necessarily measured by the amount of times it has been inflicted upon someone. The traumatic events were also quite random in a way they happened in a sequence defined by too much coincidences regarding time and people if that makes sense. Besides all of this I do admire the diversity of the characters, the way the story is connected from beginning to ending and how well the author describes emotions

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Content Warnings

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