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floraaea3's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Acephobia/Arophobia
feral_andro's review against another edition
- 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
minor spoilers
I did not particularly like this book and don't understand why so many people do. The writing was not immersive for me -- instead of showing the reader who the characters are, all we get are endlessly long descriptions of the author telling us. I typically really enjoy dense writing, but it was not beautiful or original prose.
As for content, I still don't know how I feel about it. As someone who has experienced abuse, I just don't see Jude's internalization of it as realistic. Yes, there are elements of realism, but I think the degree to which he has internalized what he experienced is dramatized in the extreme and somehow takes away from the experiences of real abuse survivors .... though I have not yet been able to find the words to describe why I feel this.
(Possibly because in the end we're just supposed to accept that some people are too broken to be "saved" and are just destined to die. And as someone who has been suicidal before, I don't like this suggestion at all.)
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Infidelity, Acephobia/Arophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
adamparrishlover's review
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Acephobia/Arophobia
prawdziwki's review
- 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
0.5
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Outing, and Classism
moomoochamp's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Acephobia/Arophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
emilyhunterr's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Acephobia/Arophobia, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
jaybird_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I will begin this by saying that I am a queer disabled man, and it is for that reason (and my insatiable, sometimes harmful curiosity) that I read this book.
This book is not some great gay novel as so many have claimed. It is not even written about queerness; it just uses sex with men as one of the many ways that Jude is physically and emotionally tortured. Jude’s sexuality, trauma, and disability is not written with empathy — it is written with a sick fascination that is voyeuristic in nature.
Some of the characters are more than lovable. Some of the scenes and relationships are beyond beautiful. I cried over the first description of Jude’s pain because it was so similar to my own. I cried over the care that Harold showed Jude. I don’t care. The point of this book could have been achieved in 200 less pages and with less than half of the atrocities that were done to Jude.
I might write more later, but for now I have finally sat down and read (in one week) this 800 page trauma-porn novel that so many people are undeservedly obsessed with (most likely because our culture is obsessed with trauma and abuse, especially that visited upon queer men) and can finally say from personal experience: do not fucking read this book.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, 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, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
lanid's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Biphobia, Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Dysphoria
Minor: Biphobia and Acephobia/Arophobia
stitchbooks22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, 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, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
katharinaamaliae's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail