Reviews tagging 'Grief'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

1755 reviews

g_ehd's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

4.0

This is a very traumatic book and must be aware that the author wrote the topics with the intention of bringing awareness to them! I did appreciate how well the author wrote each part and that you know you’ll need to go into this reading with an open mind. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Death, Torture, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Rape, Self harm, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Sexual content

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

fbarros's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.25

This book is beautifully written. You get caught up in the characters' lives and feel for them. I loved following the characters through their trials and tribulations and being able to see how they grow older.

However, I feel like the author made very unlikely things happen to the characters just for shock value, and it made me bored, more or less, in the final two parts because of it. It all felt too artificially designed to make you feel something, and it ended up making me feel nothing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Rape, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Torture, Self harm, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Stalking, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Alcoholism, Drug use, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, and Abandonment

macwoods's review against another edition

dark 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

3.0

I'm the first to admit liking a sad story, but this is trauma porn. This book answers the question: how might an author warrant nearly EVERY trigger warning in their work? Do not read this if you are struggling with or recently recovered from an ED or self harming. I wanted to love the book with these lovable, beautiful characters, but I couldn't get past how unlikely the trajectory was for the main character given the seemingly bottomless well of abuse this young man barely crawled out from. The fiction of a meritocracy almost rescuing this character... In fact, all the characters are wildly successful in their careers because glamour/art/money, I guess.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Self harm, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Trafficking

Moderate: Addiction and Dysphoria

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

mrsladle'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I really wanted to like this book and I liked the story, however, the writing was just terribly difficult to get through. Pretentious, pretentious(again), and pretentiously all in one sentence? And a lot of background information about characters who are literally mentioned once and the details were irrelevant to the story. 

Unfortunately, this has been my least favorite read of 2024 as it felt like a chore to read. 😔

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, Suicide, Car accident, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Medical content, Sexual assault, Torture, Death, Pedophilia, Self harm, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

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

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