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hanzy's review against another edition
4.0
It’s difficult rating this book.
It took me a while to come out of the world that was created and gather my thoughts up. I’m glad I took some time reading this one. I’m also glad that I’ve been reading other books so I wasn’t as consumed by this book as I would’ve been otherwise.
I dived into reading it after months of contemplating, reading/watching reviews, spoilers etc. The trigger warnings were intimidating and I for one am not someone who willingly self-inflicts a painful reading experience if that can be helped.
I loved the writing. It made for a hauntingly beautiful experience where I could step into the shoes of the characters, empathise with them, and understand their deepest, darkest thoughts. It was melancholic and there were times where I had to pause and times where I had to divert my mind into something light and cheery. There were times where I felt recognised, moments where I felt understood and although depressing, it felt therapeutic as well in some ways.
Sure there were inconsistencies, irregularities, parts that can be nit-picked upon, parts that went strongly against my beliefs as well, yet… I loved how contrary to what I’d read in reviews, it showed that there can be silver linings to everything, it’s the way you choose to view the world. Where at one end you see humans to be the most cruel, despicable creatures, on the other you see the very opposite, the most beautiful, noble creatures. There were parts where I felt overwhelmed with happiness just as much as there were parts that filled me with intense grief. Towards the end I got a shocker despite reading many reviews and I ended up going through the last few chapters really fast and I’m still reeling with its effect on me.
I definitely won’t be recommending this book to anyone I personally know. I’d say, read it if it really calls your name as it did for me, and read it only once you’ve checked all the trigger warnings that come with it as well. It’s not a book to be recommended.
It took me a while to come out of the world that was created and gather my thoughts up. I’m glad I took some time reading this one. I’m also glad that I’ve been reading other books so I wasn’t as consumed by this book as I would’ve been otherwise.
I dived into reading it after months of contemplating, reading/watching reviews, spoilers etc. The trigger warnings were intimidating and I for one am not someone who willingly self-inflicts a painful reading experience if that can be helped.
I loved the writing. It made for a hauntingly beautiful experience where I could step into the shoes of the characters, empathise with them, and understand their deepest, darkest thoughts. It was melancholic and there were times where I had to pause and times where I had to divert my mind into something light and cheery. There were times where I felt recognised, moments where I felt understood and although depressing, it felt therapeutic as well in some ways.
Sure there were inconsistencies, irregularities, parts that can be nit-picked upon, parts that went strongly against my beliefs as well, yet… I loved how contrary to what I’d read in reviews, it showed that there can be silver linings to everything, it’s the way you choose to view the world. Where at one end you see humans to be the most cruel, despicable creatures, on the other you see the very opposite, the most beautiful, noble creatures. There were parts where I felt overwhelmed with happiness just as much as there were parts that filled me with intense grief. Towards the end I got a shocker despite reading many reviews and I ended up going through the last few chapters really fast and I’m still reeling with its effect on me.
I definitely won’t be recommending this book to anyone I personally know. I’d say, read it if it really calls your name as it did for me, and read it only once you’ve checked all the trigger warnings that come with it as well. It’s not a book to be recommended.
lauragb's review against another edition
emotional
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
viviannguyen01's review against another edition
5.0
i need a moment
re: okay ive had my moment and i will say that this book was beautifully written. i had trouble getting used to yanagihara writing at first but once i got a feel for it, it was hard to put this book down. i definitely would not recommend this book however because it is very dark and trigger heavy. there were scenes where i had to stop reading for a moment to prepare myself for what was coming. ive never read a book that made me feel what “a little life” made me feel
re: okay ive had my moment and i will say that this book was beautifully written. i had trouble getting used to yanagihara writing at first but once i got a feel for it, it was hard to put this book down. i definitely would not recommend this book however because it is very dark and trigger heavy. there were scenes where i had to stop reading for a moment to prepare myself for what was coming. ive never read a book that made me feel what “a little life” made me feel
remmslupin'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
gaby_correa's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
alvastrm's review against another edition
5.0
Kan inte förstå att det här inte är en verklig bok. Detaljerna i deras dagliga liv är så otroligt realistiska och baserade på karaktärernas erfarenheter i livet.
bugmartyr's review against another edition
4.0
Surprisingly enough, the mental illness(es) the main character suffers from was depicted scarily accurately though some character actions (and characters themselves, specifically ones who were supposed to be likable) had me metaphorically tearing my hair out. Aside from that the one thing I didn't enjoy would be the massive amounts of timeskips, which is to say, one chapter you could be seeing the main character in his 30s and the one right after he would be 40 years old and so forth. In the end I didn't sob my eyes out like I honest to god kind of expected after almost every single review went on about it but it has made me tear up a few times so I suppose that can count as an accomplishment too.
loslibrosdecarangi's review against another edition
1.0
Si pudiera, le daba 0 estrellas. Esto debería ser considerado maltrato emocional por parte de la autora.
jjb21's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Yep, it’s great. I don’t want to describe it too much, as I went into reading it with too much baggage myself: but it was heartwrenching and charming and… like life, really.
flufina's review against another edition
5.0
Probably the most painfully beautiful book I've ever read.