mareikeeve's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Grief, Pedophilia, Violence, Vomit, Chronic illness, Dementia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Addiction, Car accident, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, and Child death
mckaylasmith's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
It is also presented as a story about friendship with four main characters and she hardly developed two of them.
Spoiler
The author was going for shock factor half of the time. So much of the plot is completely implausible - how much pedophilia is rampant in the world and that every single truck driver Jude hitched a ride with was a pedophile and that he was then just picked up off the street by Dr. Traylor who was also a pedophile?? I know how broken our system is but I do not believe all of these events could have happened to one person.And then, after all of the bullshit, killing off his partner and having no type of redemption? It is senseless suffering. I feel like it sends a message to victims of abuse that you are too broken, that there is no use carrying on. Life can be bleak but this was 100% trauma porn.
Last gripe, she built a beautiful platonic friendship between Jude and Willem and then had to escalate it. Why? Why?? We need more books about platonic male friendship. She only did that to make his death more dramatic, which again, senseless suffering.
Graphic: Pedophilia, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Ableism, Death of parent, Abandonment, Stalking, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse
holliejoy's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Stalking, Excrement, Addiction, Body horror, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicide, and Terminal illness
meganreadsbook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Child death, Chronic illness, and Drug abuse
stardustdreamer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Medical content, Stalking, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Addiction, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
Moderate: Confinement
rileyhawkins's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Dysphoria, Trafficking, Torture, Pedophilia, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Self harm, Racism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Medical content, Hate crime, Alcohol, Outing, Mental illness, Infidelity, Gaslighting, and Forced institutionalization
reader00's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Addiction, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, and Stalking
Minor: Abandonment
eleanor_w's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Eating disorder, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Child death, Drug use, Suicide, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Violence, Rape, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
ada_henry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I finished this book at midnight last night and I was at a loss for words. I was thinking of writing a very short review for this, something along the lines of: "This book consumed me" or "I cried. A lot." or even just "Ouch," but I have so many thoughts about this book, so I've decided to go for a seven-paragraph essay about it instead. I used StoryGraph's reading journal feature to take notes of what I thought, so I'm using those notes in my review.
Lispenard Street, I
35 Pages: Agh! This book is so, so well-written and amazing. I've never read anything that sucked me in like this has. The characters are so real and fleshed-out that I feel like I know them... which is going to be horrible when Hanya Yanagihara starts torturing them. I'm excited to see what happens.
This is the only happy section of this book. It starts out so beautifully: Four friends in the city trying to navigate life. The first few pages were SO PROMISING! I could picture Malcolm, JB, Willem, and Jude sitting in that little Vietnamese restaurant eating and talking about their lives. The book doesn't lose this picturesque quality until the second section, 'The Postman,' so the beginning of this book was lighter (and sometimes even funny). I loved it.
The Postman, II
102 Pages: Jude is good at everything! He can sing, play the piano, speak German and Latin, and he's obviously good at math. This man is a genius.
158 Pages: Ugh I can see people cry reading this. The first paragraph on page one fifty-eight is killing me. "He [Jude] already knew why they [bad things] had happened: they had happened because he had deserved them." I'm almost (but not quite) in tears.
173 Pages: I am starting to think that I may not be able to finish this book.
177 Pages: Update: I cried.
213 Pages: Something good finally happened… and I cried about it. This book is making me a hot mess.
223 Pages: (view spoiler)
Vanities, III
285 Pages: Jude is so selfless. It’s remarkable (and somewhat terrifying) how much of his (already very limited) happiness he’s willing to give away to ‘help’ someone else.
305: Two things:
1.) I feel like I'm reading this at the wrong time in my life. Not because it's making me depressed, just because I feel like, at fifteen, I haven't lived long enough to appreciate this book. As it is, the main cast is in their late thirties-- JB, Malcolm, and Willem are about thirty-eight, so Jude is around thirty-six, and I can't relate to people that old. That's more than twice as old as I am! Definitely a book to revist in my old age-- I think people who are in their fifties, sixties, seventies, or eighties would get the most from this. Or maybe people college students. In any case, I'm too young to be either.
2.) I don't really like JB. I haven't formed opinions on Willem (I like him okay, but I can't help but feel like he's going to become kind of a jerk) and Malcolm's just kind of there. Jude I'm indifferent to-- this is mostly his story, but the only thing I feel for him is pity. But JB... is really annoying. Chapter Three in Vanities makes him seem like kind of a horrible person.
320 Pages: Debating whether or not to take a break and read something a bit more lighthearted before I finish this.
On one hand, it hasn’t been too awful so far. On the other hand, The Axiom of Equality, The Happy Years, and Dear Comrade are very depressing apparently.
May take a break and read some Jhumpa Lahiri that’s been sitting around in my kitchen for weeks and come back shortly to finish this.
In any case, progress on this book will be slow.
The Axiom of Equality, IV
I returned to this section after taking a two-day break to read something else, but honestly, I wish I had just kept going with this.
328 Pages: I cannot believe how kind Jude is to everyone, after everything he’s been through. It makes me feel like a horrible person.
337 Pages: I laughed! I… laughed? I laughed. Huh.
361 Pages: Once again, a few things:
(view spoiler)
I feel like we never get to hear Jude talk? Like, we get his inner monologue, and we see snatches of his dialogue with Andy, Harold, and Willem, but we rarely get to see how he speaks to people in a happy, not annoyed, not angry, not scared, not tired, and not guilty way.
386 Pages: I can't with this book... I'm crying again.
406 Pages: Some of the metaphors and similes in this book would be completely outlandish, out of place, in another, but because of the context, they really work.
Also: I’m 50% done… which is terrifying, because bad things are going to keep happening and I don’t think I can handle it.
408 Pages: There are a lot of very sad things in this book, but this one may just take the cake:
“And sometimes it’s because I feel happy, and I have to remind myself that I shouldn’t.”
(Jude telling Harold why he cuts himself.)
423 Pages: Help. This is so, so sad.
460 Pages: It keeps getting worse. It gets so much worse.
481 Pages: 1. The Axiom of Equality was long and miserable.
2. The Happy Years will be longer and more miserable.
The Happy Years, V
I was right. The Happy Years were long and miserable.
505 Pages: “He was home, and home was Jude.”
Stop. I can’t.
537 Pages: I love that Jude is finally talking to be people, but I don’t think being in a relationship is what he needs or wants. (view spoiler)
546 Pages: This book is beautiful— the descriptions and details and dialogue are incredible.
(view spoiler)
567 Pages: Love to see Malcolm! The relationship he has with Jude is so pure and sweet.
589 Pages: I knew that Willem wasn't going to be an angel forever. *Update from current me, who has finished the book: I think I can mostly forgive Willem.*
612 Pages: Imagine having such a horrible childhood that you had to convince yourself things were less bad than they seemed so you seem less damaged because of what was done to you.
676 Pages: Loving the healthy, normal conversations on page 676.
On another note, I'm so close to the end of this book and while I'd love to stay up all night and read it, I really should go to bed. On the other hand, I know these next few pages are going to wreck me and that I'm not going to be able to put it down.
687 Pages: I’m crying (for real for the first time while reading this), but I’m going to stop because I know what’s about to happen with make me truly sob and if that happens I’ll just have to go ahead and finish the entire book, but it’s way too late for that tonight.
Agh I don’t know if I can finish this book. I don’t know if I can wait until tomorrow to read the rest. I’m so glad I picked it up. I regret reading it immensely.
It’s 22:34, I need to sleep.
713 Pages: I’m, like, shaking and sobbing and shivering all at once. I don’t want to read the rest of this book. I NEED to read the rest of this book. Please send help.
Two notes:
1. There’s a first time for everything, and today is the first time that I actually cried on a book so much so that it’s now tearstained. Pages 689-690 really, truly hit me. Hard. It’s been a long time since I cried that hard. “‘I’m Willem Ragnarsson,’ he says. “And I will never let you go.’” How was I meant to keep it together for that?
2. The end of The Happy Years was a punch to the gut. My heart stopped. I can’t handle it.
Dear Comrade, VI
722 Pages: no
Lispenard Street, VII
795 Pages: This is the last update before I finish the book. I’m about to start the seventh and final part of this book: Lispenard Street. I’m already sobbing, and I know that it can only get worse.
It’s been a wild ride. This book is incredible.
814 Pages (100% done): “And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and I everything I see, I see him.”
It hurts.
Final Thoughts:
So, um, yeah. This was a lot. It was so insanely quotable, I underlined so many things. I loved the friendships, how Hanya Yanagihara showed how deep that love can be. It's so incredibly beautifully written, even if it is also incredibly sad. That being said, I think it was a little more hopeful than other sad books, like Young Mungo, because of how many kind, loving characters this book had. Willem, Andy, Harold, Malcolm, Julia, even Richard, the people who worked with Jude. This book was miserable, depressing, and mostly hopeless, but it did have its moments.
If I were to rate this based off of how good the writing was, how real the characters felt, or how it made me feel, it would be an easy five stars. However, there are a few things that weren't my favorite.
1. It's kind of ableist.
2. There are no developed female characters. Like, not a single one. Maybe Julia, but not really.
3. It has a problematic approach towards mental health.
I also feel like even without all of Jude's (kind of unnecessary) trauma, this book still would've been sad. Following four men as they grow up and drift apart and back together and apart once again would be heartbreaking no matter what. And I do feel like Jude's suffering was a tiny bit much. Like, yes, some of it is absolutely necessary and should stay, but the extent of it seems kind of appalling. I will never recommend it to anyone, because it could actually ruin somebody's life.
If you want to spend ten days reading a book that you will be thinking about for the rest of your life, this is for you. I have never been on the verge of tears for longer. I have never cried so many times while reading one book. Although I think Paper Wishes still holds the record for the most amount of tears shed over one book, this is a close second. I have no idea what I could possibly read next. I know that nothing will seem as good.
This book was long and sad and I loved it so, so much.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Ableism, Pedophilia, Grief, Sexual violence, Suicide, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
Moderate: Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Torture, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Medical trauma, and Medical content
This book is way, way more graphic than you think.aalayah's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body shaming, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Violence, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicide, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Rape, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Blood, Dysphoria, Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Vomit