Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

3142 reviews

itsbumley's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

maleenooo's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I cannot express what this book made me feel. In a way, it ruined me, but in another, it gave me a little hope for the future. A little life is literary masterpiece and the best book I will ever read. Still, I‘m a bit conflicted about recommending it because of its violent and devastating content. 
I read it about a year ago and am still haunted by the characters. I think about them maybe once a week, always getting overwhelmed by their stories, dynamics and love. I would never recommend any of my friends to read this book, but still I want to share it. I would strongly discourage anyone with a history with mental illness to pick up this book, especially if they are still in an ongoing recovery process since it contains a lot of triggers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

kait815's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Suicide attempt

purplepandajen's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

tazrox's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

mstevens3697's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

alyxandrathegr8's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

Horrifically tragic. Trama porn. Don’t read if you are not in a good place.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, 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, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Horrifically tragic. Trama porn. Don’t read if you are not in a good place.

laura007'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The very last thing written in my copy is the about the author bit, which just says "Hanya Yanagihara lives in New York" and I'd like to add "writes absolutely devastating books that will have an effect on your mental health" 

Getting trough this book only took 25 cries (yes I counted) and like a million pauses to stare into space trying to process what's happening (I couldn't have counted those if I tried, simply because it was not clear when one ended and another started) 

But don't be fooled, I loved this book. Every word of it. I loved the way each line was phrased. I loved how you were told absolutely everything about the characters, making it feel like you knew them. I love the way it broke me, shook me and devastated me (if you spotted a Florence and The Machine reference, you would be right, that was intentional). I have found the book to be devastating in the most beautiful way. 

One of my favorite things about the book is the slow pace, I absolutely loved how it allowed the plot to be developed  fully and perfectly. If you're in the first two parts and you're thinking that nothing is happening - something is, you're just getting to know the characters, you're learning about them, that's going to be so important later on. 

If you're thinking about reading this, I'd say you should. But please proceed with caution. It's a really intense reading experience and you are (at the very least) going to have to take a lot of breaks, while reading. It's pretty much impossible to not take it all in. 

Also, if you are considering reading it - please please please PLEASE, check the trigger warnings, there's a lot and most of it is graphic. Only read it when you're in a good place mentally. 

(side note : this book reminded me of Appointments by Julien Baker, specifically "Maybe it's all gonna turn out alright /I know that it's not, but I have to believe that it is") 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide

wine_n_witchcraft's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

reinavrodz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective 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

I have never been sucked into a book so deeply. Felt like I entered inside the book and was living in this story for the entirety of it. The hardest book I’ve ever had to read but I already wish I could read it over again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, and Suicide attempt