Reviews

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

enbylievable's review

5.0

I don't wanna talk about it. This book took me to places emotionally that no other book has ever done. I can't look at Tiktoks about this book without fighting tears. I'm never gonna forget this

die_on_mars's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

keurimjanee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

veebee257's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Homophobia, Addiction, Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Self harm

lsaunders685's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Body shaming, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Death, Excrement, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Body horror, Bullying, and Gore

sendnewts's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

This book got my heart in a headlock and beat it into a bloody pulp. These characters are so intricately written and I know they are going to stay with me forever. This book's portrayals of platonic love and familiar love and romantic love and the fluidity of all forms of love was so beautiful and tender and soft, and the contrast in that against the backdrop of trauma (which sometimes strayed into trauma porn and became almost unbelievably horrible) was such a stark and breathtaking contrast. How weird to feel grief for people that don't exist.

bearthelumberjack's review against another edition

Disgusting book by a disgusting author

meirysza's review against another edition

5.0

This book has special spot in my heart. I don’t mind to reread it. Jude, I want to hug you so bad. Whoever Judes in this world, I want to hug you all.

asc1006's review against another edition

2.0

*Spoliers below*

so....I have developed a love-hate relationship with this book while reading it. At the beginning I though it was going to be a bomb ass book that I was going to recommend to every human with the ability to read. Then I started getting mad at the characters and also at the story and I thought I was just waisting my time reading the book and this was up until last night, when I had about 100 pages left to read. Then something shifted. What, you may ask...well, I had a major headache so I decided to listen to music to soothe myself and I put on a playlist with sad songs and while I listened I realized that about half of them related to the book so well, and so I started thinking of the story and the characters and oh boy I started bawling so hard because only then did I understand how sad and raw the entire thing was, how pure and gut wrenching the plot is, and the last 100 pages were just a confirmation.

Then why did I only give it 3 stars?
1)I disliked the length the book, I think the story could have been developed in at least 200 pages less than what it actually was. I generally prefer plot driven books, rather than ones with philosophical arguments about this and that, like this book had.
2)the synopsis talks about a group of 4 friends, Jude, Willem, JB and Malcom, but of the latters you only get about 2 chapters at the beginning and then you see them sporadically in episodes regarding Jude and Willem, so they almost become side characters at the same level of the other actual side characters (sorry, I used the word characters one too many times, but hopefully you get the point)
3) so this point is what took away a whole star from the rating and it is Malcom's death: now, I get why the author decided to kill off Willem, shock effect and all that, but Malcom had no reason to die, he was pure and nice and probably my favorite of the four of them and had he survived, the story would have gone on the same so...

phlegmie's review against another edition

5.0

I read this book in two days because there was no way I was gonna let myself be emotionally manipulated any longer than that. I had to take a few mental retreats halfway through because I got so scared and helpless and sad, and consequently, defensive of this vulnerability. Obviously was not an enjoyable experience and left me seething until the very end.