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megmahoney1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Self harm, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Medical content, Rape, Religious bigotry, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Cursing, Addiction, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Grief
biddymesschaert'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Eating disorder
shakedown1994'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
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Body shaming, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Vomit, Drug use, Grief, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Pedophilia
ellenravioli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Confinement, Child abuse, Gore, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Rape, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, and Mental illness
amandaantonitti'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
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Blood, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Torture, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Chronic illness, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Suicide, Sexual content, Self harm, Rape, Sexual violence, and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Dementia, and Car accident
mlange1432'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: Sexual assault, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Grief, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Trafficking, Addiction, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Torture
gabiharvey'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 finished this book on june twelfth. jude took his life, once and for all on june twelfth.
this book - i am completely and utterly speechless. even though i just finished it, i can tell, i know without a doubt, that this book has changed me. in what ways? i don't quite know yet, but i know it has.
"'my poor jude. my poor sweetheart.' and with that, he starts to cry, for no one has ever called him sweetheart..."
"'my sweetheart,' harold says again, and he wants him to stop; he wants him to never stop. 'my baby.' and he cries and cries..."
what's the most heartbreaking, is the inevitability of it all. from the start, jude's exit from this world via suicide was always obvious, always something that wouldn't come off as a surprise. and yet, being human, naturally i held onto some slight hope that he would find happiness in the end, that he would be okay. in the end, when his suicide was revealed, it was both a shock and not one, because for me personally, i just gaslit myself so hard, even though the truth was there in plain sight from page one.
it's utterly insane to me, how real this book has become. i swear jude st. francis, willem ragnarsson, and all the other characters are very real people. i don't know how yanagihara managed to do so, i just know she did.
having a main character who is disabled, abused both physically and emotionally, and consistently declining in overall health for the entire duration of the book is, like i mentioned earlier, a recipe for disaster. however, this also makes the book something beautiful in its tragedy, where as the reader, you know to appreciate the good moments, no matter how big or small. seeing jude achieve happiness with willem was something beyond rewarding to see, even though it was never necessarily "perfect", such as willem's choice of ignoring the fact that jude was miserable having sex, and resulted in jude burning himself, willem throwing a razor at him, and the entirety of that portion of the book. But, when they apolgized to one another, and talked, my heart ached and healed in a way words can't describe. seeing willem continue to accept jude as he tells his entire backstory, from the monastery to dr. traylor, was something i never thought would come to fruition. for jude to see that he was still loved after that, it was something beyond describing. without a doubt, the happy years was my favorite section of the book, especially after willem and jude's talk about his past. seeing willem worry incessantly for jude with his wounds, his staying at home as opposed to working, his comforting him with his nightmares, telling jude who he really is, his waking up and holding jude so tight when jude wanted to cut himself, his motivation for jude to take care of himself, his crying at jude's bed before the amputation operation (i broke so hard here), his being there as jude was put in a medically induced coma, his reassurance to jude that harold would never do what those clients did to him, his presence as jude learned to walk once again, or when he seized in bed (and willem thought that was it, poor baby :(), or tucked him in bed after noticing jude's dozing at the dinner table, or helping jude take his final walk with his real legs, or teaching jude how to dance in the bathroom, or touring that famous structure in europe together, or treating jude as nothing less than normal as he sat without his prothesis, or spending hours in the hospital with him, or taking a walk with jude even though it worried him, or attending jude's work party, in which jude came practically running (i know he actually can't but as close as he could, i'm sure) to willem when he saw willem tug on his left ear.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, Violence, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Torture, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Abandonment, Cursing, Gore, Addiction, Kidnapping, Body horror, Body shaming, and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent and Vomit
luuaa'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
2.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
brksp'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: Drug abuse, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Death, Child abuse, Car accident, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
mikkiokko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
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