Reviews tagging 'Racism'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

206 reviews

lena_hearts_books's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

this book was so sad i almost threw up and had to take a couple of week-long breaks so i could finish it. if youre thinking of reading it - dont, but also do because its beautifully written but so so tragic.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

apislibrary's review

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective 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

i'm depressed

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

nastassja's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Toxic friendship

stellasampieri's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Dementia, and Death of parent

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

capucapulet's review against another edition

dark sad

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

sentiaracha's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Transphobia, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cancer, Fatphobia, and Dementia

sg124's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Car accident

Minor: Cancer, Incest, Racism, Abortion, and Pregnancy

lillians's review against another edition

i wish i hadn’t read this book at the age i did. i made excuses for it but reflecting as an older person it is trauma porn. there are things in this book that come up for me frequently as harmful intrusive thoughts. if you’re not literally the most stable person alive i would encourage you not to read it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Sexual harassment

bill369's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

OMG, WHAT DID I JUST READ!?

Okay, this book strongly influenced me. It really made me think and reconsider so many things. More than I would like for certain. But all in all, it really is an unforgettable, masterwork, something that becomes so close to your heart and then stabs you.

Characters in this book are real. They have their flaws and their strengths. I deeply care for them and hope that in some universe they are happy.

The writing is spectacular. At first, I was a little annoyed by how at one moment we were in the present and at the other, it was a flashback, however as the book goes this is eliminated. The more you read, the more you understand it and the more you like the way it's written. There are strong lines and they make me think or sob. The one that's really close to my heart and tears is:

„Sometimes I think I care more about your being alive than you do.“ (page 596)

 

It wasn't an easy read. It broke my heart and it will be broken by this book for a long time. It will always have room in my heart. I don't regret reading it, it's my favourite stand-alone book. It was an amazing experience, however, I will not be recommending it. I believe, that only someone who really wants to and is prepared to should read this book. It isn't for everyone.

If you are considering reading or you are reading the book, then I'm telling you it gets better. The Happy Years are actually happy and they are so beautiful. It really is the best part of the book. I would recommend, that if you don't want to have the happy experience be ruined, stop after part 2 of The Happy Years. Part 3 doesn't bring nice things and all that follows is just heartbreaking. 

Jude's story is truly disturbing and sad, yet it brings attention to any topic, which isn't a bad thing. The trigger warning list is very long and I will try to put everything here, however, I do recommend checking it elsewhere as well. At times it feels like Hanya Yanagihara is just torturing this poor guy. I'm truly sorry he had to go through all this bad stuff.

You can live a long happy life without reading this book. If you really don't want to read it, then don't. Save yourself the pain. There are far better books that won't cause you to cry randomly, because of the thought of the book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death and Drug abuse

Minor: Child death, Racism, Suicide, Transphobia, Car accident, and Death of parent

maren_218's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Cancer