Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

3318 reviews

jooooooolia's review against another edition

3.0

i bought this book curious of it’s visceral emotional damage it seemed to bring upon a pandemic of readers on the internet. two years later, i then finally picked up this book aware of it’s polarization and interested where i would fall with my reactions to this book. i finished a little life with an understanding of both sides i frequently see readers fall under—those who hold this book dearly to them and those who find this book largely problematic for it’s overabundance of mature topics. regarding the latter opinion, it needs to be VERY clear that NO READER should pick up this novel without being aware of it’s potentially triggering content. even for me, a reader who typically is not turned away from content with mature themes (only to say this if you yourself also are similar and contemplating reading this book), i found the passages including self h*rm incredibly disturbing. in these ways, i can find myself deeply understanding the largest critics of this book. nonetheless, these faults did not stop me from finding things to enjoy while i read. besides the insensitivity the author presents towards traumatic experiences… i think this author captured the essence of life well. i enjoyed the ebb and flow of the goods and the bads—the mundanity but also the beauty in the mundanity. i liked the side characters—maybe even so much so that i wished there had been more spotlight on them. overall, i find myself in the middle of a little life—a reader who enjoyed the novel in some aspects but is nevertheless critical of it. in the end—i don’t think that this novel made a profound or livid impact on me as it has done on many others.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Addiction, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Terminal illness

stacyvillariass's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I've read a lot of sad books in my lifetime (with the same trigger warnings) and this one tops it all. And not in a good way. 

Albiet the beautifully written words and wonderful story telling, this book has brought me nothing but but dread and sadness. Everything was so gray and hopeless. I kept reading because I was hoping for a rainbow, the rain, sunshines, a breath of fresh air, or peace. Not in a literal way but with the feeling. But I felt so hopeless in the end that I broke down crying. 

I know that this is a work of fiction and in no way represents only one person. And it breaks my heart to think that what if? What if there is someone out there experiencing this? That you can have all the money and success in the world, and yet you never felt complete, happy, secured, and at peace?

I pray for everyone who's suffering
I pray that all children be safe and secured, and well-taken care of
I pray that all predators perish and suffer 
I pray for everyone who has read this book


Beware. This book will break you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

taykai1314'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

2.0

Don't read this book. You will literally become so depressed. It was good writing but this story is so sad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

svtephreads's review against another edition

I tried reading this three times and couldn’t get through it. It’s so graphic and unnecessarily cruel to read. I don’t recommend it to anyone. It has every content warning you can think of. The sparknotes summary was already too graphic for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Suicide attempt

annahowell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Graphic: Child abuse, Self harm, and Suicide

emteaen's review against another edition

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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide

maluulam's review against another edition

challenging 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

Cinco minutos

Uma Vida Pequena foi um dos melhores livros que eu já li, e com certeza o mais triste. Mas mesmo assim proporcionou muitos risinhos sinceros e momentos muito agradáveis, de esquentar o coração. E isso é o que torna o livro tão bom.

É surpreendente a forma como é possível se conectar com os personagens e sentir com eles cada experiência. Além de mudar sua perspectiva dependendo de quem está narrando a história.

Esse livro com certeza vai deixar Jude e Willem, com sua linda e emocionante história, por muuuuito tempo na minha memória.

Uma Vida Pequena mostra os mínimos detalhes e, uma das minhas coisas preferidas no livro, os momentos do dia a dia de uma amizade maravilhosa. Que faz com que mesmo apenas "cinco muitos" façam toda a diferença.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

a_hale's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

aadilh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

Heartbreaking

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, 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, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

neppis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.75

Varsinkin alussa kirja oli pitkäveteinen ja tuskallisen hidas lukea. Se saattoi myös johtua siitä, että kirjan teksti oli pientä ja tuntui ettei lukeminen edisty ollenkaan. Kirja käsitteli paljon synkkiä asioita, mutta tunsin myös iloa ja onnea. Paikoittain kirjaa oli ahdistava lukea. Tarina ja kirjoitustyyli olivat loistokkaita, mutta 0.25 tähteä lähti pois kirjan hitauden tajua. Tarina oli todentuntuinen ja herätti paljon erilaisia tunteita.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Suicide attempt