Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

27 reviews

nie_fertig's review

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I feel like this is one of those books that everyone needs to read, unless any of the content warnings below are too much for the reader (particularly suicide, as two characters contemplate it throughout the book) - I will admit, there were a few times I had to stop reading because the abuse and bullying that one of the main characters, Nao, goes through is very graphic, intense, and extremely heartbreaking. 
But I adore how the story goes back and forth from the reader / the present with the author herself, Ruth, to the writer / the past, Nao, and how both stories influence one another. As a writer myself, it really made me think of my relationship with my audience, or whoever is reading my works in the potential future.
And another theme is about the now and how important and incredible now is within time. I'm definitely going to think about this book for quite a while...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Self harm

hannahmager98's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This was my first novel by Ruth Ozeki and it was so beautifully written. The plot was certainly character-driven, but every character developed in such a meaningful way. I felt everything was wrapped up well, but there was certainly a twist to a (somewhat predictable) beautiful ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Bullying, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death of parent, Body shaming, and Dementia

roseblossom999's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, War, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Death, Body shaming, Body horror, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Rape, Mental illness, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Violence

indydc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Content warning: This book discusses suicide and other sensitive topics at length. Readers take care. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Suicide, Bullying, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, and Trafficking

cowboynixan's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

It has been such a pleasure to read this book; throughout this reading experience from start to finish it has been nothing less of extraordinary. I feel grateful that this book has come to my life the way that Nao's journal has found its way to (book) Ruth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Bullying, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death, and War

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Classism, Gore, Grief, and Violence

carol_mesq's review

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Bullying, and Dysphoria

karmapen's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, War, Sexual violence, Violence, Self harm, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, and Mental illness

Minor: Torture, Body shaming, and Blood

yeoldeeclair's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

Moderate: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal death

soleilnigro's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

I thought the idea for this story was really interesting and i really liked all of the characters, but it just dragged out a lot for me. I think if you really like slow paced philosophy books then this was really great and well written, but as someone that usually can't get into slow books this was difficult to finish and I did have to skip a lot of pages. objectively I think this book was really good, but not for me personally. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Rape, Self harm, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Bullying, War, and Sexual assault

alisonannk's review

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Bullying, Physical abuse, and Torture

Minor: Rape