Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Uma Pequena Vida by Hanya Yanagihara

917 reviews

kemia's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense 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

3.25

This is a HARD read. I feel like the authorโ€™s sole intent was to create the saddest book every chance they could get. Nothing could ever go right. There was everything you can think of within this book to make you not want to continue reading. This book was not made to make you feel happy. 

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q_nel's review against another edition

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

4.75


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froggpogg's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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


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gabrielaclarke's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0


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wheelylauren's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.25


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linush's review against another edition

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5.0


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tellatrix's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.75

๐€ ๐‹๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ž ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž 

๐‡๐š๐ง๐ฒ๐š ๐˜๐š๐ง๐š๐ ๐ข๐ก๐š๐ซ๐š

Disclaimer: Please note that this review may contain spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

I just finished the book, and my vision is still a bit blurry from crying. Please excuse any errors in spelling.

This book taught me so much about life and made me realize how fortunate and ungrateful I can be at times. My problems seem so minor compared to what others endure. But then I think about Jude, who tried to convince himself that his past experiences werenโ€™t that bad, that he deserved what happened to him. How could anyone, any human being, go through such trauma and believe they deserved it?

It was heartbreaking to see Jude blame himself. He trusted Brother Luke and went with him, thinking he cared. At that age, after everything he'd been through, wasn't it natural to cling to someone who seemed to care? Someone who saw him as a human being, not an object for gratification?

I loved the book's portrayal of each character. By the end, I felt like I knew them all, as if we were friends. I appreciated the development of each character, and I particularly enjoyed Harold, Andy, and Richard. I found them even more compelling than JB and Malcolm.

However, while the book was deeply moving, some parts felt repetitive. I understand the author's intent to portray Jude's cyclical existence, but it sometimes felt like there was little respite. I found myself feeling trapped and unable to continue reading, dreading what might happen next.

I was also disappointed by the deaths of Willem, Malcolm, and Sophia. These felt unnecessary and forced, particularly Willem's death in a car accident. It would have been more impactful if he had died of natural causes.

Despite these minor criticisms, my favorite quote from the book perfectly encapsulates its themes:

"And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him." 

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hjb_128's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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angeljohn's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

Ok this book is a mammoth and so this will be long. It was engaging, I kept reading, and Iโ€™ll think about this book so why no 5 stars? Well, I struggle with discerning if this was trauma ๐ŸŒฝ or a complex narrative with complex people but both could be true I suppose. 

I think Iโ€™ll continue to think about the role of friends and romantic partners. How much do you owe someone with relaying the details of your life but even more so how you can hurt them hiding yourself, but also how you can hurt them sharing. 

I guess I havenโ€™t had a repeated traumatic experience definitely not to the extent of Jude.. but to be well into adulthood holding the intellect he does, it was painful for me as the reader to see him unable to comprehend the idea of being groomed or even more so just how he was a victim. I feel like so much healing couldโ€™ve happened if that was understoodโ€” but cant blame the victim.. 

The way therapy was viewed kinda rubbed me the wrong way, but I respected how characters were self aware and still said maybe the โ€œwrong thingโ€ or felt โ€œthe wrong wayโ€ they were human. 

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julells's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

3.0

I'm soooo conflicted about this book. First of all, I absolutely adore the writing style. However the topics are definitely very heavy and I feel some aspects, especially regarding mental health, are slightly unrealistic. Overall, I definitely knew what to expect getting into this book and got through it, but there's just something about it that doesn't quite sit right with me.

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