The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
katenico's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Self harm, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
icarusandthesun's review against another edition
- 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
i can only describe how i feel.
one can find two different types of people in the review section of this book:
- type A: "this book is completely mental and tragedy porn and you shouldn't ever read it", and
- type B: "this book is completely mental and tragedy porn and you should absolutely read it",
(and of course the impartial "i love it but would never ever recommend it to anyone").
so i was curious which type i'd end up being.
answer: type B. because i loved it.
of course it was tragic, and traumatic, and bloody, and cold and crazy. but it was also lovely, tender and warm.
maybe i'm just a whole other level of delulu and mental, but i found a little life strangely comforting. when i feel down, i feel this urge to pick it up, to drown in this world yanagihara has created. i want to read about the lives of all these people i've had the pleasure of meeting—jude and willem and harold and julia and malcolm and jb, and and and.
one of the reviewers on the back of the cover said something along the lines of "i wish this book was longer" and at first i thought this person insane. but now, ... my god, this person's right. i find myself wishing i could just pick it up and continue reading. this feeling is especially strong when i'm feeling down—comfort book and all that.
720 pages, and i want to re-read it. actually, i just want to never stop reading it.
originally, i didn't want to rate this book at all, because that would be like rating a sad, trauma-dumping (auto)biography; it feels wrong somehow.
but i can't really stop thinking about it, and that's always THE sign that tells me that i really, really enjoyed a book. so i want to give it a good rating.
so yeah. type B.
do check out the trigger warnings (there's a lot of them), but if you're okay with all of them, i want you to read it. forget that "i would never recommend it to anyone because it's so sad"-stuff. i'm telling you to read it. because it's good.
it's a good book.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Suicide, Grief, Death, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Blood, Ableism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Rape, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, and Torture
Moderate: Infidelity, Outing, Vomit, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Addiction, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Car accident
peppyb's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Grief, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Violence, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Suicide, Body shaming, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Trafficking
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Biphobia and Infidelity
xiumillion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Please check trigger warnings before you read this book. If you have a trigger, it is probably in here
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Ableism, Car accident, Confinement, Eating disorder, Addiction, Gore, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Suicide
oliviayee's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Child abuse, Medical content, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
jco1016's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicide, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Child death, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness
holliejoy's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Stalking, Excrement, Addiction, Body horror, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicide, and Terminal illness
isidoraxx's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
stardustdreamer's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent, Medical content, Stalking, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Addiction, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
Moderate: Confinement
robyn1998's review against another edition
- 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
-Very frustrating that Yanagihara zeroed in on all the most horrific and romantic parts of being traumatised and disabled and conveniently left out the more mundane and realistic parts
-Jude being a total Mary Sue, the best at everything despite having the worst life ever. He is the best lawyer in the world, keeps his apartment super clean, an amazing cook, a great singer - despite also being the MOST traumatised person to ever exist. As well as being in horrible chronic pain (but he doesn't take any painkillers because he's Too Strong and Traumatised and better than everyone else in pain). Some of the closest people to me have severe physical health issues; I also work with people with severe mental illness, many of which develop from incomprehensible trauma. And it does have an impact on their lives and achievements. It's pretty stupid and unbelievable that this isn't the case for Jude.
-How come Jude has so many friends who would do anything for him after the age of 16 (and why? He seems so boring and all he does is apologise) despite having the complete opposite before 16 and everyone having been evil to him.
-How do you get a doctor to treat you for so long without taking any money? What an absolute joke. Staying up until 1am every night to meet his patient at a diner? That struck me as not only inappropriate but also irresponsible. Is that just how it is in the US? I hope any other healthcare professionals reading this can also understand what a ridiculous premise that part of the story was - plus how naive it comes across coming from Hanya Yanagihara; you might want to help your patients but that's taking it too far and will only burn you out and wreck the boundaries between your personal and professional life.
-Everyone being so rich and how improbable it is. I got so sick of them buying houses constantly and jetting all over the world and speaking so snobbishly. The bit about their friend Roman's partner being unintelligent made my blood boil. I just get the sense that HY is a massive snob Absolutely 0 poor or middle class characters. Why?
-"Oh, we're all dying..." and other sweeping generalisations and cringey dialogie dialogue- just so unbelievable, fake and cheesy
-One thing I did like was the depiction of starvation at the end and how nasty a person can become when they're not nourishing themselves. I found it really accurate.
-JB- I liked his character and would've liked more of his story. I was enjoying the book much more when it treated its characters as equals rather than turning into a long pity party for Jude. I like portrayals of flawed but interesting characters who don't make the best friends, as I relate to having people like that in my life. Malcolm felt extremely underdeveloped though and seemed to just fall off the face of the earth once he got married.
-To anyone who has felt a similar way to me about this book: I would urge you to read The Heart's Invisible Furies - it's tragic, made me cry but also was so funny and big-hearted, unlike this book. You can tell the author has experienced some of what he's writing about, and you can tell he wants you to enjoy reading it rather than just trying to shock and upset you. Also it includes world events and is educational, unlike this book which seemingly happens in a vacuum.
- I would like to see what the rest of Hanya Yanagihara's books are about. I think she is very talented but this story was just extremely grating to me.
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Ableism, Eating disorder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Car accident, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, and Body horror