Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Una vita come tante by Hanya Yanagihara

3959 reviews

camillevanin's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Self harm

haileynielson's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, and Suicide

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

anabuhr's review against another edition

1.0

I don’t know how to rate this. It’s unbearably depressing. I’m trying to wonder why I read it. Why I kept reading it. It made me so sad. I cried so much. 
I like a good cry and movies and books that tear you apart but with some hope. Somewhere. Afterwards I read a lot of reviews. I thought differently about my feelings. But still jumbled all up. 
Should I rate it 5 because it evoked strong emotion and was heart breaking to read? Or is that a 1? 
I will never read this again. It feels like a gut punch that keeps kicking you after you’re down. 
Maybe Im not so good at my rating system to realize what is a 5 and what is a 1. 
I hated it. But I was captivated for many nights, blurry eyed trying to stop crying so I could keep reading. 
Why did I keep reading? 


This is what I wanted the book to be:

“and the nubbly teal of the sofa beneath them made them both appear shining and jewel-like, their colors just-licked and glorious, their skin delicious. ”

And I thought maybe this was what was happening: 

“and everything would be wiped fresh, and he wouldn’t feel that deep, writhing discomfort inside of him”


Then this slapped me with pain and yet still I dared to hope:

“Mahler’s “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen” …The standard interpretation of the first line was “I am lost to the world,” but he read it as “I have become lost to the world,” which, he believed, was less self-pitying, less melodramatic, and more resigned, more confused. I have become lost to the world / In which I otherwise wasted so much time. ”

And kept hoping:

“when he knew so little but had such hope, and faith that his hope might one day be rewarded.”

I could continue with the quotes but in the end it didn’t make a difference. It was already written and I knew it. I knew it was going to be heart breaking and I kept torturing myself. 

Maybe that is a 5 star. In a sadistic sort of way. And so I think due to my inability to want others to suffer I must give it a 1 star. 
I wish I had never read it. Reading is a joy for me and this was achingly tragic. Maybe not full spoilers but fine. Enough to know that you will not walk away from this with having learned anything worthwhile in your short little life. Terrible things happen to good people but I agree with other reviews, many characters just enabled the destructiveness. 
Trying to look at things objectively its very far fetched that everyone was immensely successful, even Jude. That he could have suffered all that and then been such a completely different person during trial but can’t even attempt therapy.  Just a bit unbelievable.  Maybe that is my naïveté. 
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

jpeer's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual assault, and Violence

haydenmick's review against another edition

challenging 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt

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

gabrielaclarke's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail