Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Een klein leven by Hanya Yanagihara

231 reviews

thetinysnail's review against another edition

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dark sad tense 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

2.0


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neontulips's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I'm furious. The craft of this book was so excellent, asides from what I would say amount to some planning and character writing issues that begin about the final quarter of the book, that it bothers me immensely that every lesson in the book emanates such a pessimism, that they all amount essentially to a bleak miserable world that does not do much to fight Jude's contention that his life is not worth living. Around the point in the book where I began to think, wow, Yanagihara really understands that the only way to really go on living is to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known, she created a false world in which it was impossible to allow oneself that relief,
and concluded a story which purports essentially that the people around Jude should have let him go, as a man only fifty, because his life was so hard
. To treat such violence as inevitable is to put that violence into the world. This book is beautiful and miserly and irresponsible. I hated giving it a rating for this purpose.

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libbyyjo's review against another edition

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dark 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


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violetbentbackwards1036's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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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mskingbean69's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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_hiitsstella's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense 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

3.5

I hate that I like this book, I can't help but look back on this story through rose-tinted glasses. Obviously I refuse to actually re-open the book because I know I would quickly prove myself wrong, forcing me into misery. This book is torture porn in pretty packaging; the writing is lovely, but the content is gruesome and often nauseating. I would not recommend reading this, I know however, that those determined to seek out and consume this type of content will do so despite numerous warnings. Check the trigger warnings, the list is never-ending.

This book feels like a form of trauma-bonding (not in the way social media defines trauma-bonding, but the actual psychological phenomena) the book hurts you, and yet you never want to let it go. It (dare I say) traumatizes you, and you end up bonded with it, seeing aspects of it in your day-to-day life for months after you've put the book away.

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megannicolemay_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

Not for the faint of heart. I don't remember the last time I sobbed this hard, certainly not over a piece of literature. 

Hanya  Yanagihara writes the brotherhood of male friendship so beautifully, without a lens of toxic masculinity, the way male friendships truly are. Amongst the sorrows, there is so much psychological take away from this read, about the way we perceive ourselves in comparison to how others view us, the beauty of the mundane, and the inability to let go of grief.

However to any readers going into this book blind, check trigger and content warnings before getting into it. This book was far more graphic and content heavy than I originally anticipated even with being aware of some of the triggers contained in the story.

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valeryv99's review against another edition

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

3.5

First half wasn’t my favorite but I can see why she does it. It’s to build up the character. Definitely a heavy read and will make you feel some type of way.

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honipoems's review against another edition

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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

4.0

I’m still traumatized but as I’m still obsessed it has to be a very high star ratings. it needs all the trigger warning you can think about but I’m still thinking about it. I don’t know if I want to leave this book behind me to never see it again or if I want to read it again one day.

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becphe's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Devastating and so good.  The characters rich and complicated. The relationships felt genuine.

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