Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Una vita come tante by Hanya Yanagihara

431 reviews

fran_____'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

averyirelyn's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

absolutely crazy book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

0325film's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

3.75

what really is the meaning of life according to the author...? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

pikkumarja's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Tunnen ristiriitaisesti tästä kirjasta. Proosa Pienessä elämässä on kaunista. Se on yksityiskohdissaan pyörteilevää ja jotenkin kiusallisen tarkkanäköistä. Tunsin oloni epämukavaksi, koska halusin jatkaa lukemista, vaikka se tuntui tirkistelyltä. Rakastin ihmissuhteiden kuvauksia ja erityisesti Willemiä ja Juliaa. Näiden asioiden takia matalampi arvosana ei tunnu oikeutetulta, mutta on sanottava, että jo aloittaessani lukemista olin kriittisenä liikenteessä.

Mutta onhan tämä vähän liikaa. Yksityiskohtaiset kuvaukset itsetuhoisuudesta, tuhon graafisuus ja ylipäätään queerihmisten kärsimys oli turhan mittavaa. Yksittäisenä kirjana queerkärsimys vielä menisi, mutta laajempana ilmiönä (ja koska tämäkin kirja on osa laajempaa kirjallisuuden kokonaisuutta ja kulttuuria) queerit saavat kärsiä liikaa. Ei tämä silti ole ansainnut syytöksiä traumapornosta tai epäuskottavalla trauman määrällä. Maailma ei ole reilu ja jotkut ihmiset joutuvat kärsimään enemmän kuin on inhimillisesti mahdollista. Kehotan todella lukemaan sisältövaroitukset ajan kanssa, jos et kestä joitain teemoja.

Yanagihara onnistuu luomaan todella painavan tunnelman kerronnallaan. Kirja jää varmasti elämään mielen perukoille pitkäksi aikaa monestakin syystä.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

jaydenmosher's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

maria_thebookworm's review against another edition

challenging 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

“But what was happiness but an extravagance, an impossible state to maintain, partly because it was so difficult to articulate?” 

I didn't even rate this book because it is one of those books that is SO challenging to rate. The writing is gorgeous but the book is very slow, especially in the beginning. I decided to read this one because I kept seeing the book everywhere, along with reels of people crying while reading it. I became very curious. 

"A Little Life" is about four male friends in NYC,  their struggles, and their heartbreaks. The book specifically focuses on Jude, the main character, and the trauma and abuse in his past that he never recovers from. 

If you are someone who is triggered by detailed descriptions of sexual and physical abuse, along with graphic descriptions of self-harm, I do NOT recommend this book. It is very graphic and can be very hard to read. 

I read this book very, very slowly. I don't recommend trying to breeze through this one. This book took me about a month. It is over 700 pages, composed significantly  of very long, detailed descriptions. It was full of many new vocabulary words. I would say that the book could definitely be a few hundred pages shorter; I typically don't like long books. 

This book was extremely emotionally draining. I didn't cry (I'm not a crier when it comes to books), but I kept having to pause towards the middle and end of the book to just process how terrible Jude's life got. I had to take many moments to try to process the truly unimaginable horrors. Prepare to be traumatized, as Yanagihara does not hold back in terms of detailed descriptions of self-harm or abuse. 

Without spoiling the book, I will say that Jude feels guilty and undeserving of any good and love that comes to him, which intensifies his feelings of guilt and shame. He fears people using and abusing him, even his friends and those close to him. He is afraid to believe that anything good can happen to him.  

Despite many painful portions, the book details hope, love, and friendship. Jude learns what love actually means in people who never give up on him. 

This book teaches the beauty of friendship, loving and sometimes getting nothing in return,  forgiveness, and the concept that trauma does not have to define your life. 

I recommend this book if you are looking for an intense, sad, once in a lifetime read. 

“But then, didn’t everyone only tell their lives – truly tell their lives – to one person?"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

elsiesanchez's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

Es crudo y no tan alejado de la realidad que viven muchas personas aunque sea duro, triste y difícil de aceptar,pero un excelente redacción de hechos y momentos, descripciones tan detalladas que te hacen tener la viva imagen de como son los lugares y hasta del olor de ciertos personajes 

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Content Warnings

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

*No es un libro para personas sensibles, aborda temas de autolesiones, suicidio, violencia y abuso infantil*

luciaeve's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, 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, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

ka_cam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

This book is a lot. Strongly encourage reviewing content warnings. Well written and at times moving exploration of the impacts of trauma and love, especially friendship and chosen family, through the years. However many parts of the story felt excessive and flat-

The trauma Jude experienced was… gratuitous and frankly unrealistic. It felt like the author wanted a childhood as horrific as possible set 100 years before the young adulthood- what Catholic monastery (not orphanage or school) would be allowed by superiors and the state to raise a child? What child would, multiple times, be taken to many doctors and later attend public school with clear, visible, severe injuries known to be due to ‘breaking the rules’ and not encounter state intervention, however ineffective, at any point? Would a child in state care with a history of sex trafficking and abuse not be assigned a social worker or monitored for continued sexual abuse in any way? Never forced to sit through group or individual therapy, however ineffective? Just cut loose from foster care well before their 18th birthday without an emancipation or other process to attend college out of state? It just got harder and harder to believe and it took me out of the story a lot. Likewise while the love and devotion of his adult friends, doctor, and adoptive parents was heartwarming it was sometimes pure to the point of flatness, only Willem really reacted to J’s serious mental health issues with mental health issues of his own/poor reactions. They at times read like martyrs to the concept of healing trauma more than full characters

 All to say, the character development and research into the systems (Catholic, social service, medical, etc) involved felt lacking to a distracting degree. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Dementia

han2213's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail