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bailliemayberry's review against another edition
2.25
I will not be recommending this to anybody nor will I be re-reading it at any point in my life.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child death, Racism, Ableism, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Gaslighting
caitlin_d89's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Dysphoria, Blood, Ableism, Medical content, Gaslighting, Confinement, Body shaming, Abandonment, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Self harm, Torture, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, Trafficking, Suicide, Mental illness, Gore, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Body horror, Incest, and Child abuse
Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Gaslighting, Addiction, Bullying, Gore, Biphobia, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Incest, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Kidnapping
libraryofsachi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Self harm and Ableism
Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Violence, Drug use, Eating disorder, Transphobia, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
⚠️ Please see the trigger warnings for this book! ⚠️ There are some really sensitive topics and graphic scenes throughout it. Stating upfront that I don’t recommend this book to anyone!laylamaethaila's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Hate crime, Eating disorder, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Death, Incest, Grief, Gaslighting, Ableism, Xenophobia, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Physical abuse, Medical content, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, Self harm, and Lesbophobia
malace0's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Self harm, Drug abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Trafficking, and Suicide
Moderate: Eating disorder and Racism
Minor: Transphobia, Abandonment, and Lesbophobia
howlchemy's review against another edition
- 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
i'm not taking back my 5* rating, because i (unfortunately?) really enjoyed this book and there are certain aspects to which i relate to but, after months of pondering, i cannot recommend this book anymore. and i am very sorry to the people i have recommended this to.
a really good way to start this is by letting you guys read this article by andrea long chu for the vulture: https://www.vulture.com/article/hanya-yanagihara-review.html.
or also, a youtube video:
https://youtu.be/JpZF7O0jezg?si=pWTZBw6LiELRv7Tz
it took so long, but i finally opened up my eyes to the writing style, plot and to the author herself. for a really long time, i did not believe that were people were saying that hanya loves to write gay characters suffering but oh my god, she really does. it's some weird, f*cked up fetishising view on gay people, specially men who seem to be the focus of her books. she's always writing about the most stereotypical things about gay man (like having aids, being victims of SA and/or physical abuse, etc) and some of us have fallen the tiktok rabbit hole of eating this sh*t up.
in a lot of ways, i relate to jude, hence why i have loved this book and i always backed up my opinion by saying jude is the personification of so many people (as if he's the bearer of all the possibly bad things that can happen to a human being), but i simply CAN'T agree with myself. hanya yanagihara just loves writing about weak, sickly young gay men being tortured beyond comprehension. there's never a happy ending, and i know it doesn't have to, but yanagihara probably gets off on seeing miserable people.
not to mention that she is so uncultured, to an extent that made ME feel uncultured. the things that went over my head because she, quite literally, triggered me so much to the point of sobbing on my couch at 10 am finishing this godforsaken book. i think it gave me trauma. this woman has done zero research about the queer community, about therapy, about mental health - all topics she has mentioned over and over and over again in her book(s). she quite literally believes that, if you're so miserable, just k*ll yourself! .... anyway, bold of her to think that way when she coddles her characters so badly, she makes them suffer, nurses them back to health, to put them again at the brink of death, just to repeat the process all over again, until it's time to push them off the edge.
another note i'd like to make, related to my last point, is that "a little life" is just your average ikea manual instructions on how to self-harm. this was brought to my attention in the video i have linked above, and i think it's absolutely mental the amount of times yanagihara writes detailed, gore filed, vomit inducing passages of self-harm. as someone who struggles with that, at first, i felt seen but it came to a point that i couldn't fathom why the depictions had to become more and more disturbing as time went on.
to finish my thoughts, i leave you with my favourite quote from the article by andrea:
"The first time he cuts himself, you are horrified; the 600th time, you wish he would aim."
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Car accident, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, and Eating disorder
Minor: Drug abuse, Transphobia, Drug use, and Lesbophobia
daniel195evans's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Child abuse, Violence, Suicide, Sexual content, Self harm, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Suicide attempt, Death, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Eating disorder
madisone's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Chronic illness, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Sexual violence, and Violence
besotted's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Gore, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Self harm, Mental illness, Grief, Child abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Ableism, Lesbophobia, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Vomit, Classism, and Deadnaming
sophietheonion's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Gaslighting, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, Cursing, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Ableism, Self harm, Blood, Body horror, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Car accident, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Toxic friendship