Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Una vita come tante by Hanya Yanagihara

707 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

wheelylauren's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

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

nlgeorge73's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Suicide

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

jamielo's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

angeljohn's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

Ok this book is a mammoth and so this will be long. It was engaging, I kept reading, and I’ll think about this book so why no 5 stars? Well, I struggle with discerning if this was trauma 🌽 or a complex narrative with complex people but both could be true I suppose. 

I think I’ll continue to think about the role of friends and romantic partners. How much do you owe someone with relaying the details of your life but even more so how you can hurt them hiding yourself, but also how you can hurt them sharing. 

I guess I haven’t had a repeated traumatic experience definitely not to the extent of Jude.. but to be well into adulthood holding the intellect he does, it was painful for me as the reader to see him unable to comprehend the idea of being groomed or even more so just how he was a victim. I feel like so much healing could’ve happened if that was understood— but cant blame the victim.. 

The way therapy was viewed kinda rubbed me the wrong way, but I respected how characters were self aware and still said maybe the “wrong thing” or felt “the wrong way” they were human. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

julells's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense 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

3.0

I'm soooo conflicted about this book. First of all, I absolutely adore the writing style. However the topics are definitely very heavy and I feel some aspects, especially regarding mental health, are slightly unrealistic. Overall, I definitely knew what to expect getting into this book and got through it, but there's just something about it that doesn't quite sit right with me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer

njos3ph's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Gripping torture 
Peep through your fingers fiction
Rubber kneeling reading
I read in spite of my feelings. I hated it but couldn’t look away 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail