Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

1921 reviews

martincru's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

Es una pena que no haya podido disfrutar de la lectura debido a que haya tragedia tras tragedia, cada cual peor. Es un libro muy bien escrito con partes muy bonitas y una historia interesante. Pero al final no he podido conectar con él porque sabía que algo malo iba a pasar. Demasiado visceral, explícito, y pesimista.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

sylb1991'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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, and Car accident

Minor: Drug use

elizabeth_helmer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

kayaelena's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

kmartucci's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I can’t rate this book— it took me almost 7 months to finish it and I read multiple books while I was taking a break. It is such a slow paced book and the descriptions can go on and on for pages. 

There were parts where I was sucked in and there were parts where I was so bored. More than anything I found myself dying to get to the end just to finish it. 

I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone because of the content and the slow paced, but many people do love it. Over all, it wasn’t the book for me and it was more tedious to finish than enjoyable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

tinypear's review

challenging dark emotional 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

“And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him.”

I genuinely thought I was going to get through this without crying until I reached 'Dear Comrade'. I have never sobbed so hard whilst reading a book. The last 100 pages of this book ripped my heart out and trampled on it.

I loved A Little Life more than I can express in one review. I could not put this book down and I found the characters to be captivating, their development well fleshed-out and their lives so beautifully intertwined with each other. The story is heart-wrenching and agonising to read, especially towards the middle and the end of the book, and one that I expect to stay with me for a long time. The topics were raw and difficult but so amazingly written that I felt completely immersed in a multitude of scenes. 

Before reading this book, ensure you are comfortable with the content warnings. This book is so graphic that I had to step back a couple of times and recollect my thoughts. It's also a slow one that takes a little build-up at the beginning to get going. 🌙

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Dysphoria

jaid5394'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Acephobia/Arophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

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