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pikkumarja's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
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.
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
- 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
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
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
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?"
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
tanitamxtx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Honestly, avoid ithidivamd71's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
jessedithgc'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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Cursing, and Medical content
hazelgrace2411'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
Where to start? Firstly the writing. I cannot stress enough that Hanya's writing is terrific. It is so subtle yet so merciless. She has done an incredible job of laying out the cruel reality of life. She keeps us readers engaged from the start till the very end. Her book is like an onion, peeling away each aspect of life.
I was so immersed in the story and all of the characters. I love Jude and Willem, and Harold, Julia, Andy, Malcolm, and JB. All of their dynamics with Jude and their selfless love and genuine care for him almost balanced out the traumatising parts of the book. This book is dark and whenever I came across those details, I had to put away the book and just stare blankly at the wall, wondering how can a human being be capable of such cruelty. I was so angry at those parts that I genuinely wanted to physically harm each one of them and make them pay for every bad thing they ever did to a child. Jude went through so much at such a small age. He didn't deserve any of those things. Nobody deserves it.
I am glad that Jude got to experience friendship and the true love and care of his parents. I feel for him. He didn't deserve any of it and the severe trauma he went through defined his whole life. He was never able to overcome any of it his entire life.
I thought I would ugly cry reading this book but I braved it all: Jude's past trauma, his abusive relationship with Cardan, Willem's death. But I broke at the very end. I thought Jude would live but he took his life after all. It was Harold's words that broke me and made me cry. Jude took away his life because he couldn't tolerate life anymore and he died believing all those words that his abusers wanted him to believe. He died thinking he was unworthy of all the love. He died believing he was worthless and this breaks my heart so much. Jude is going to be one of the fictional characters that I will have the most empathy for. He deserves all the love in the world.
This book is a reality check. These things happening to Jude are not fiction. My favorite John Green quote is- Life is not a wish-granting factory. We live among monsters and this world is surviving only because of people like Willem, Harold, Julia, Andy, Malcolm, JB, Irvines, and Richard.
This book breaks your heart and takes away a part of your soul. It is eye-opening. I know I will think about this book. I will think about Jude and how much he endured, and how evil men could be.
Favorite Quotes~
'Friendship, companionship: it so often defied logic, so often eluded the deserving, so often settled itself on the odd, the bad, the peculiar, the damaged.' (pg 91-92)
'... things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize that no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.' (pg 133-134)
'... because to be alive was to worry. Life was scary; it was unknowable.' (pg 500)
'We're all dying. He just knew his death would come sooner than he had planned. But that doesn't mean they weren't happy years, that it wasn't a happy life.' (pg 621)
'He had looked at Jude, then, and had felt that same sensation he sometimes did when he thought, really thought of Jude and what his life had been: a sadness, he might have called it, but it wasn't a pitying sadness; it was a larger sadness, one that seemed to encompass all the poor striving people, the billions he didn't know, all living their lives, a sadness that mingled with a wonder and awe at how hard humans everywhere tried to live, even when their days were so very difficult, even when their circumstances were so wretched. Life is so sad, he would think in those moments. It's so sad, and yet we all do it. We all cling to it; we all search for something to give us solace.' (pg 621)
'It isn't only that he died, or how he died; it is what he died believing. And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him.' (pg 720)
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Suicide attempt
a8bhatia'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
enlamont'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: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
eaupaline'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
2.75
My feelings about this novel are rather mixed. Overall I liked the writing, the character and the deep sense of nostalgia that I had when reading it. I thought it said a lot of beautiful things about friendship and love, too. The characters feel close to us and we see them grow for so long that it's difficult not to get attached - my favorite were probably Malcolm, although we don't see that much of him, and Andy.
What troubles me though is the extremely graphic scenes of violence, and how deep we delve into Jude's past. It sometimes felt like trauma porn or voyeurism and I really don't think being that explicit was absolutely necessary and the only right way to convey the misery of this character's childhood.
It's a very personal feeling but at some points reading about his past almost felt like a trahison, Jude's character being so secretive and dignified, it felt as if I was discovering his past without his consent, and I thought it was weird and clumsy.
I didn't get this feeling until some point in Jude's story though.
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Infidelity, and Racism