Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Een klein leven by Hanya Yanagihara

1093 reviews

sammyemma's review against another edition

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

4.25

A beautifully written piece of art. I was disappointed by the strong focus on only two of the main characters (justice for Malcolm please) but appreciate that this is the direction chosen by the author. Absolutely phenomenal in every other aspect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, 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, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer

anna_2010's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Abandonment

jilliand973's review against another edition

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 beauty is in the details… I’m beginning to realize I love stories that delve into one event/experience/lifetime by examining or telling the story through different lenses. The vast perceptions of one experience by multiple individuals is so raw and human. It is not for escapism but for deeper appreciation of the reality of humanity and connectedness that I appreciate this type of literature. It is a reminder of what matters, who matters in life. The human experience, relationships, tragedies, etc. in these stories serve as a reminder of how precious those little moments are, in a little life. We all have a world inside of us worth appreciating, as small as we may feel. I love experiencing one character through another, seeing them as they may never see themselves, how beautiful they are. Especially in this book, this is how I came to love these characters. To think I almost wrote this book off due to other’s reviews- I like to believe I am better now that I have read this. I am almost upset I waited two years to read this. Though I also appreciate the timing of reading it now and what is has provided me this moment in my life. This will be one book I know will will stick with me through the years. I am so thankful of the reminders this book provided me, it made me want to call my best friends and my family. Definitely makes you sing “I think I like this little life”.
• Secondly, it is important to note (if recommending this book to others) that it is tragic in a way that can be described as disturbing. It is full of trauma with little to no relief. Read the trigger warnings and if you have even an ounce of doubt that you can handle it, I would err on the side of choosing to sit this one out. I do not agree with the critique that this book is just “trauma porn”. I think- in my opinion- that is a gross over-simplification of the content of this book. Of course, that is subjective. I think there are deeper themes in this book that go beyond the characters’ traumas. This book does not get better. I think it is important (spoilers or not I do not care) to EMPHASIZE this does not get better. I have heard of people feeling traumatized just after reading this book- so it is not be picked up lightly for a “good cry”, it does have a significant impact on the reader (good or bad as reviews will show).

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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 abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

eve_ningsky's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This was overwhelming yet underwhelming at the same time. Overwhelming in the sense that some of the scenes were so explicit and vivid (and that it did make me cry), and underwhelming in the sense that it felt like Jude's trauma was just there for shock value—trauma p*rn as one would call it. Jude is just not a very realistic product of that kind of intense trauma and it was sort of framed as if his trauma was his only "flaw".

I would've rated this a 2 but it did what it was written for—to make someone cry.

I added 0.75 because of the Axiom of Zero and Axiom of Equality parts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

unpetitchat's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

Saddest book I’ve ever read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

soymagu7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide

luciejzql's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

J’ai reposé et recommencé trois fois le livre parce que je n’arrivais pas à dépasser la 2eme partie. 
Pendant la première moitié du livre, j’ai été complètement emportée par l’histoire de ces personnages, par leur manière de fonctionner ensemble et seuls, et intriguée par Jude et son passé. Et puis au milieu du livre, après quelque premiers récits d’horreurs, j’ai compris que le reste du roman irait de mal en pis. C’est tellement complaisant dans la douleur, dans la souffrance, dans l’incapacité à changer que ça en devient gerbant. Jude m’a été insupportable dans le dernier tiers et j’avais hâte de finir le livre pour enfin pouvoir passer à autre chose. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

mvegag's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense 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

5.0

Without spoilers I do have to say this was a complete journey on friendship and human relationships, everything that is said about the book is true, it has amazing writing, complex characters and it is very sad but I still think not sadness as conveyed just being sad and towards the end just a feeling of this is how life is.
All this to say, highly important to read trigger warnings this book is not for everyone and although I would love to recommend it to everyone I know as an amazing study on relationships in life, complex emotions, communication, love and affection, this is a very tough book that will have you feeling sad, hopeless, in despair, angry and touches basically all potentially triggering topics in detail. Reading it in the incorrect mindset I’m sure could lead to DNF’ing it and just having a bad experience and spiraling even further into whatever you might be going through.
If you feel like you need to be hit by life, to have your truths be told and feel exposed, guilty, sad and angry whilst following some extreme situations then by all means go for it and I’m sure you will “enjoy” it.
5 stars for the amazing journey it was, how complex relationships and emotions are handled and how it doesn’t care for any kind of expectations you might have, this is raw life, no sugar coating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, 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, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

anachlls's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

hullabalyew's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

This book was so well written. Yanagihara evokes so many emotions from guilt, shame, and fear to joy, pride and love. “A Little Life” encapsulates the complexities of existing, of living. While many will never suffer even a fraction of what Jude has, we can still relate to the insecurities that we’re not good enough for our friends or our job or our family. This book was so powerful, and in many ways, I think the twists and turns and painful and sad bits are what makes it so good. For some, life is full of loss, but they still chug along and keep living. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Car accident, and Gaslighting