Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

1624 reviews

kimikreil's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

daddylonglegz's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, and Abandonment

suryac's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I don't know where to start with this. I have read critically acclaimed books before that I genuinely loved reading but later learnt that most people don't like the book. But "A Little Life" is the opposite of that. I don't understand how this book is well-reviewed and popular when it is so bad. While I appreciate the author’s effort to tackle complex themes and create layered characters, the execution was lacking in several key areas. Also the blurb for this book is absolutely misleading. When I pick up a 720 pages book with the blurb which states that the book is going to explore a group of friends over the years, I expect it to focus on each of the friends separately and not just one person, even if that one person is connected to them all.

One of the most troubling aspects was the way the author handled the characters. Individuals who were portrayed as "good" or morally upright by other characters were actually deeply flawed—sometimes even terrible. I get that flawed characters can add depth and nuance to a story, but the lack of acknowledgment or exploration of these flaws felt jarring and, at times, unsettling. It left me questioning the author’s intent and message.

Additionally, the overarching themes in the book felt overwhelmingly bleak. Rather than offering a nuanced perspective or a sense of balance, the narrative seemed to insist that there is no hope. While I understand that not every story needs to have a happy ending, the relentless negativity made the reading experience feel oppressive. It’s one thing to reflect on the harsh realities of life, but another to seemingly dismiss the possibility of growth, redemption, or light amidst the darkness. At times it felt like the author wanted to dismiss that possibility just for the sake of dismissing it and every hardships that Jude endures felt exaggerated, to the point that I was desensitized by the end. It's also troubling that there's no trigger warnings available for this book from the author or the publisher.

In the end, I felt disconnected from the story and its characters. This book had so much potential to end up a sone of the best books I've read in a while, but ultimately it fell short due to its handling of character dynamics and the overall tone. I know some readers may resonate with the narrative, but this book wasn’t for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Abandonment

yum1_2's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

acgarci2's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

iveyrenee's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I lost track of how many times I cried reading this book so many emotions so sad so frustrated just so much only not 5 starts because I have to reread multiple parts because the random pov shifts caught me off guard sometimes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

emmabellex's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

victaphone's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

0.25

Every accusation of this being unnecessary trauma porn is true. It claims to be about the lives and friendships of 4 men, but not even half way through the book it's made very clear that this is all about Jude and all the awful situations the authour revels in putting him through. The heavy-handedness when it comes to Judes suffering takes away a lot of whatever impact the authour thought she was making. The few moments Jude *isn't* being abused are way more interesting, as we actually get a hint of his actual personality (what little there is of it), rather than being Yanagiharas punching bag. Jude is clearly written to be the main character, but the author doesn't give him much character to begin with, so all talk about him being "post racial" just feels like lack of commitment, rather than whatever radical thing the authour thought she was doing with that. Don't even get me started on the horrible representation of gay men, this is *not* "the great gay novel" and whoever said that needs their head checked (although they'd probably share Yanagiharas views on how therapy doesn't work). Overall, this was a waste of over 700 pages. Even though queer representation in books could be better, a book written by a straight woman where most if not all of the gay sex is rape and most of the "gay men" are just pedos should not be met with this much acclaim.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Dementia, Car accident, and Acephobia/Arophobia

ophi_dprt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Where do I start?
I feel overwhelmed with emotions. I feel like I went through four, five, six different lifetimes. Jude’s, Willem’s, JB’s, Malcom’s, Harold’s, Andy’s…
I never felt as strong emotions as I felt while reading. And I felt everything. Happiness, sadness, exhaustion, despair, anxiety. Yanagihara managed to put the reader in the shoes of the characters and we FEEL for them, with them, as them.
Beautiful doesn’t begin to describe this book. It’s a metaphor of life. If it’s cruel sides but the beautiful ones as well. Of love, it’s complexities, but its greater beauty. Of loss, the pain far greater than anyone could imagine, no matter how they prepare for it. Of happiness, which blinds you and tricks you until life strikes again and you find yourself stranded, lost, back to a place you foolishly forgot.
This book taught me of the beauty of life, of love. It will stay with me, for a very, very, very long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

breekehler's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

4.5

Took me a year and a half to finish this book. An Incredibly heart breaking read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment