Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Ein wenig Leben by Hanya Yanagihara

169 reviews

might_be_may's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

definitely read all the trigger warnings before reading and take them seriously

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Child death, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Terminal illness

jesstafson's review against another edition

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Abandonment, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

lsdthoughts's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Abandonment, Dementia, Drug abuse, Ableism, Addiction, Sexual assault, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Toxic relationship

tmarts's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Confinement, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Car accident, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, and Eating disorder

ombdrip's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

Read this while listening to Lingua Ignota's Caligula. Intense music for an intense book, but a very good fit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Alcohol, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Rape, Grief, Car accident, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking

hln's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.25

This is hard to review. I don’t think I’ve ever cried this much while reading a book. It is a depiction of unimaginable trauma, and pain, and an emotionally challenging read. On the other hand, it is also full of love, friendship, and success. It shows the unfiltered lives of four young men in New York, who are trying to find their place in the world and who are striving for success, and love. As they navigate through life, they experience different types of grief. 

The character that holds the group together, Jude St. Francis, has an unfathomably tragic past that he keeps mostly to himself but that is visible to other’s because of his - emotional and physical - scars. The book tells the story of his life through the happenings of the present-time mixed with events that happened in his childhood. It follows him and his friends as they get older and live through various stages of life.

I would strongly suggest reading the content warnings before reading this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Self harm, and Suicide

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Ableism, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Rape, and Vomit

I strongly recommend reading the content warnings before reading this, and to read this book with caution. It is a book full of trauma and pain.

savannahrich's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Car accident, Religious bigotry, Rape, Sexual content, Addiction, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Vomit, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Torture, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

catisbookish's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

This novel made me cry so hard, my partner asked me if my grandpa died.  Anyway, easily 5/5.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Drug abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence

art_emis's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Suicide, Sexual violence, Medical content, Car accident, Death, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Hate crime, Grief, Sexual assault, Self harm, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Rape, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Stalking and Confinement

lauravreads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

The synopsis in the back of the book makes it seem as if the entire novel revolves around four best friends however, Jude is the protagonist in the book, and after the first 200 pages, the other three best friends are more of a background than the vocal point. 

This book is beautifully written, and Yanagihara does an amazing job of captivating the reader and getting you to feel for each of the characters. This is a pretty lengthy book and it’s hard to not be emotionally entangled with these characters. That being said, there are a lot of traumatic experiences throughout this book, and they were many times when I had to put it down for a cry break or because it was a bit abrasive.

I feel that This book could’ve easily been a five-star read because of how well it’s written, and how invested I was with these characters in their lives. However, I gave it a four-star, because the protagonist, Jude, is a man with a disability, and that is an integral part of his character. I have read a lot of works of literature regarding the disability community as well as worked with a disability community, my entire adult life. Many of the aspects that Yanagihara Portrays within the books are very dark. However, they seem to align with a lot of my understanding of this disability experience. 

While I think disability representation is important, I feel that the general public, may not be aware of the ableism within our society, but this book might shine some light on the disability movement. However, I feel that Yanagihara should not speak for the disabled community. There are many disabled authors out there and many books are already written or might be in the process of being written by disabled people that talk about the disability rights movement and talk about their place as disabled individuals, and it is not necessarily their place to write a book from the perspective of a disabled person.

Recommend reading for understanding disability and society:

• The Pretty One by Keah Brown 
• Disability Visibility editors by Alice Wong 
• Capitalism and Disability by Marta Russell
• Being Heumann by Judith Heumann
• We’re Not Broken by Eric Garcia 
• Care Work by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha 

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Content Warnings

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