Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Una vita come tante by Hanya Yanagihara

1202 reviews

toriyaki's review against another edition

The depth of the characters was lost in the author’s want to make it a “deep” exploration of trauma. It lacks the necessary understanding of human experience and is truly “fiction”. Not a deep emotional tale or another subplot or narrative. Just plan cartoonish nonsense that disguises itself as a trauma novel. Would be better written if it was a scientific thesis on trauma instead of a failed attempt to be deep. Author uses “telling” instead of “showing” brings this disconnect and basically the author telling the reader to “feel” what’s being told. But it doesn’t work like that- emotional pull isn’t there since there is no character development in the abusers besides the author telling us that they are abusers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, and Car accident

julesheegs's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

vulcajes's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

Oh my god do not read this book. It is 700 pages of shitty trauma porn and I hated every second. Jude isn't a likeable character (pity ≠ liked), Willem sucks, and I WISH Malcolm and J.B. had more time to shine. Malcolm is entirely ignored for the plot to revolve solely around Jude's continuous trauma and J.B. only comes up to traumatise Jude more. It's good to write about complex traumatic experiences but holy shit the entire book is just one trauma after the other. The whole moral of the story is that some people should just kill themselves after EVERYTHING Jude's adoptive parents did for him. Justice for J.B. and Malcolm, we never got a satisfying story for them, let alone an ending. Fuck this book royally.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

hjb_128's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

tamaragrp's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

gracielou1220's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

Crushed my heart and soul. Beautifully written and really loved the comples characters and how they lived their lives together. Very long and struggled a little in the earlier years. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

doboo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

chefjeng's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.75

I don't know where to start with this one. Why did I put myself through this? Fuck this book! Am I glad I read it? Yes. Would I ever recommend it to someone else? Hell no. 
I thoroughly enjoyed the depiction of deep friendship, love and loyalty but I did find the misery of Jude's life over wrought at times and ridiculous to the point of far fetched at points but the treatment of grief, self harm and the legacy and effects of childhood trauma and abuse is vivid, raw and well done. The prose is beautiful and I will probably read more by the author, but I need a break after this one!
Twice (after the adoption and the start of Jude and Willem's romantic relationship) I wanted the story to end to have at least some semblance of a happy ending, but that wasn't to be and somehow I kept going to the end. Self harm episode after self harm episode, gut wrenching story after gut wrenching story. 
The "gay men are all paedophiles or doomed to live depressing lives and die full of shame and misery" trope wearing at times but I loved Jude, and most of all I loved Willem so I stayed with them till the end. Would I do it again? Yes. Should I? No. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Dementia, Abandonment, and Alcohol

aveelanee's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

"A Little Life" is a profoundly moving and beautifully written exploration of friendship, trauma, and the complexities of love. 

While the narrative can be emotionally overwhelming, it’s also incredibly rewarding. Just be prepared to be wrecked emotionally- this book does not shy away from dark themes, and some passages may be difficult to read. I skipped a few sections and had to go back and read it later simply because I couldn’t handle the intensity of it. Would recommend to look up the trigger warnings before you read the book. 

Despite everything, I wholeheartedly recommend "A Little Life." It’s a heartbreaking yet beautiful read that stays with you, earning a solid 4.5 stars. If you appreciate deep character studies and rich, emotional narratives, this book is a must-read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Self harm

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Death

tessakooijmans's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny 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

5.0

What did I just read?

Jude deserves so much better, rest in peace<3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, 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, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail