Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li

35 reviews

e_f_p21's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

Bereavement, child suicide

imogenrose97's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

This is my second Yiyun Li of 2024 and absolutely my favourite. Exploring loss through language, dissecting suicide of a loved one from the perspective of someone who's felt the same. I couldn't get over how kind the protagonist was to her son through their written dialogue after he took his life at 16, I expected more pushing for responsibility to be taken, more animosity or asking for answers from a son that was no longer there. Instead I was meet with kindness and understanding about making a choice that she didn't even argue against. There was no resistance to why. This book touched so many sore spots and left me devastated but in awe. The empathy between mother and son cradled my heart, I'm not even sure how to explain the feeling. It's so rare to find discussions of mental health that are so objectively written, especially from a mother's perspective. Without blame. So often mental illness feels like something you're carrying around as a huge burden to those around you, like you've done something wrong. It felt gratifying to have someone so close to her son be so forgiving of his choice. To understand that the pain of living was too much and to give voice to the complex intricacies between living a good life, full of joy and good hobbies and strong community around you and the cold empty pain of depression. It's hard for even his mother to fault his choice.
The use of language, words and their origins, was beautiful and a perfect addition to the book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide

mish_k's review

challenging dark emotional sad 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Suicide

shedevls's review

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

it's hard to put my thoughts about this book into words, given how personal the experience was, so i'll just say this: to say it was a difficult read is putting it mildly. it was something i had to put down many times over in order to step back and deal with my own feelings, but overall, it definitely helped me on my journey of both grieving and healing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicide, and Grief

neha_rainbows's review

emotional reflective sad

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Suicide

ksustoryteller's review

emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

mwritesdragons's review

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Suicide, and Grief

enjaromirjagr's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

mochiwaffles's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicide, and Grief

mromie's review

emotional sad 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

In an imagined world, a mother and son continue their conversations after his death. Truly beautiful. A shared love for language and literature, conversations that crystallize what was once mundane, an act of remembering and memory  

P.48 “we become catchers in the rain…what, my child, can I catch now, when all has become invisible?…Words, mother dear. We will be catching each other’s words, don’t you see?”

P.53 “I want yesterday and today and tomorrow, all with Nikolai in it”

P.54 “the root of patience comes from Latin, to suffer or suffering. What are other words that link pain to time, time to pain?” “Nostalgia: home plus pain”

P.73 “the etymology of the word settle…setlan, from setl, seat - to seat, bring to rest, come to rest. Can parents’ hearts find repose after the death of a child?”
“If you mean something sinking to the bottom, he said, yes, I feel quite settled. Sedimented”
“Everything about me that used to disturb me, he said, I’m all clear now, pure and perfect, just the way I want”

P. 78 “Do I have a self? Did I? Will I?” “A self is timeless. Tenseless” 
- “you cannot demand that everyone be perfect.” “But not yourself” “I tried, Mommy, I did try. Can’t you see I’m perfect in only one way?”

P.79 “I’ve found a perfect enemy in myself”

P.135 “How ignorant and happy I was beforetime” 

P. 153 “What’s the harm of spending a few minutes lost in wishing, I thought, when the deepest wound would remain open, day and night”

P. 167 “Words fall short, yes, but sometimes their shadows reach the unspeakable.”

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide