Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

3997 reviews

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

cassidyaurelia's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Self harm

carahudson4's review against another edition

emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Sexual violence

Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use

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

ayeshacincina's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

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

tarasamson's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.5

I'm 50/50  about this book. As much as it made me feel for the characters, it was a long read. Sometimes it felt too good to be true, other times it felt too made up. I liked it and I also didn't.

I was sad, angry, frustrated, confused, and hopeful,

but in the end, it broke my heart. It's haunting to think there are things you cannot recover from.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Suicide

raifaisreading'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

2.5

I felt like Jude’s character was unnecessarily brutalised by the author, it was almost pornographic. I didn’t enjoy this because I didn’t feel like it was a good story. I know this is some people’s reality, but the voyeurism of his torture felt extremely wrong. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Suicide attempt

lael96's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

5.0

I have never read a book so nuanced, so balanced, so true to the reality of life. This is a heavy boo, it deals with intense trauma, codependency, love, friendship, abuse, pain, fear, coping, joy, and happiness. It's a picture of life and death and the small intricacies of the relationships we all have. It's not a glorified love story, its a flawed one. This was probably one of the best books I've ever read. I also thought the author did a phenomenal job handling trauma and abuse in a way that did not feel exploitative or as a grab for attention. She wrote with a gravity and sensitivity while also not sugarcoating the reality of the situation. I appreciated that immensely 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Sexual assault