Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

3047 reviews

laurendough's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

1.5

a lot of the reviews encapsulate my thoughts on the author’s approach to writing about trauma, mental health, abuse, sexual violence, medical trauma, etc. which is to say, highly inappropriate and a near glorification of them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

madz7's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

This story will take your soul rip it out throw it on the ground stomp it pour gasoline and then light it on fire before trying to out it back. I’m not one to cry especially when reading but I UGLY CRIED for the a solid hour and a half straight. 

I truly enjoy how this story was told with the different perspectives but focused around Jude. If the 814 pages looks scary you can find the audiobook for free on Spotify as a podcast. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

This book is a story follows the life of Jude who is someone has a fuck ton of trauma as you can see from the triggers above. This book can be very descriptive about some of the topics above and can be troubling for some people. 10/10 would read with caution if you got mental illness but still is a WONDERFUL STORY AND IS WORTH IT

billie_the_raccoon's review

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A roller-coaster of emotions. Willem was an angel. Jude deserved such a nicer life. Harold and Julia are just so nice. I wish I could see JB's paintings and Malcolm's structures. This book was hard to read but so well written <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

marnj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

glorioes901's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.75

A little life is by far at the top of my favorite books ever. I never thought I’d enjoy it as much as I did. This book definitely needs trigger warnings and for anyone who’d like to read to get a summary of what it entails. Though in the midst of all the grief, I found the friendships to be the most beautiful, genuine and real depiction of friendships. How they evolve over time, how they’re messy and rooted in complexity. I constantly had the urge to hug the main character and hold them tightly. This book is real, raw, sad and more than anything, honest. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Car accident

sincerelymarika's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

A Little Life accomplishes what it sets out to do: to make the reader question the value of life and also to question what makes life worth (or not worth) living. Yanagihara is particularly good at weaving together storylines that have parallels and relevant themes  so that the entire book feels cohesive and overall satisfying. 

That being said, I think I could cut 200-300 pages and end up with a book that is just as deeply impactful and far less boring. There is a lot of detail that does little to actually flesh out characters or add atmosphere, that just make the story drag. Despite the other literary feats that are accomplished, there is just too much slog. 

The last section,

from the perspective of Harold speaking to Willam,

is the perfect way to end the book, wrapping the novel up masterfully. I did cry, which given my attitude towards the rest of the story while I was reading, did surprise me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Blood, and Kidnapping

Minor: Addiction and Vomit

aparkes's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Self harm

kierakarlenzig's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Trafficking, and Suicide attempt

winterjulii's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

cleotheo's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

brutal and gentle
heavy and delicate
sad and beautiful 
I listened to the audiobook on 1x speed for the most part. It was beautifully written and very very long. 
Do yourself a favour and pick the abridged version (I read unabridged) and take the content warnings seriossly!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, 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, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Outing

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Infidelity, Dementia, and Abortion