Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Una vita come tante by Hanya Yanagihara

2443 reviews

srkennedy1218's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

b00ksb4ppl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.0

I read this bc TikTok told me to. I love a devastating story but this was just unnecessary. 

Everyone (me included) crying and having intense emotional responses to the story- like yeah I’d hope so. That does not make it a good book. Creating a character and having horrific things happen to him to illicit an emotional response is not impressive IMO. 

3 stars still bc I was invested in Willem and Harold, sometimes Andy. 

I would not recommend this book though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Self harm

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

syd91201's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

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

freysiercrane's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

2.0

I’m such a hater of this book (but someone needs to be!!!) IMO it’s just trauma porn.
I’m not at all squeamish about the issues it addresses. I just don’t think you need to compile ALL forms of abuse/trauma into one character to address them. Everything was so unrealistic - how wonderful and perfect Willem is, how magnificent all their careers were, how unbelievably terrible Jude’s suffering is - that I don’t think it’s a meaningful take on the human experience at all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

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

linush's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

tellatrix's review against another edition

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

𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 

𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐚 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚

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 weren’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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

machete0s's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

maiaiaia's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Suicide attempt