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leiloooni'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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
cturn'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
4.0
Atmosphere - 6
Writing - 9
Plot - 9
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 7
CAWPILE score - 7.9
Sad is an understatement for this book. Its hard to rate such a sad book for enjoyment lol. I see what people mean when they call it trauma porn but I don't see it as quite that. However I found that as a reader, the effect of each revelation of Jude's past was less and less each reveal, as if I was desensitised to it as more was revealed. I particularly enjoyed when characters were introspective and reflecting on their actions and both positives and negatives of their own personality, when they knew they were being irrational, etc - I think those were my favourite parts to read about. I didn't sob over this book like you see a lot of people on tiktok doing, but I did cry at the end and I will think about this story, these characters that we got to know so well, for a long time.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit and Abandonment
emilyg433'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
ojmoores's review against another edition
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
ammonsmp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
esme1903'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: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Self harm
mercimarci's review
- 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
While this is not a book you pick up entirely willingly; it is one you read and becomes a part of you—literally it’s been months and my heart still hurts for Jude. I mainly picked up Hanya Yanagihara’s “A Little Life” simply for the controversy that took place some years ago when it started gaining popularity on TikTok. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect except that many considered it nothing but senseless “trauma-porn,” but that isn’t really the case at all. A Little Life follows the lives of four college friends Willem, JB, Malcolm, and with a primary focus on Jude St. Francis, an attorney with a tragic past, with a narrative that delves into the significance of friendships, the effects of trauma, and the search for identity and purpose in the face of immense suffering. This book set out what was promised. It was intense, unvarnished, horrifying, and devastating in the best possible ways. It took me a while to finish this book because of the triggering content, but I still really enjoyed it. I did not anticipate experiencing this much agony or ugly sobbing. Even the characters I detested, I adored for how ravishingly raw they were portrayed.
Plot 🎬
The plot, I wouldn’t say was anything unique. It’s about college friends trying to make it in the big city with an insane amount of trauma, but Yanagihara’s writing, her way of describing the utter pain of these characters, has a gorgeous charm to it. For the most part, being human, we have an innate morbid curiosity seeking out the broken, the deepest darkest evils this world could conjure. No matter how difficult it was for me to read through all of that or how harsh the narrative got, I was drawn in and didn’t want to stop until I was one with the words. It is in itself another experience to live through, that one cannot simply back away.
Dialogue, Pacing, and Structure 💬
Overall, I had no issue with the pacing, dialogue, or structure from a technical point of view. The dialogue was nothing particularly grand but I partially read this through an audio book and the narrator had done such a wonderful job and portrayed Jude so delicately. I loved it. If anyone is interested here is the link to her channel; http://www.youtube.com/@celinabastida.... I know some people criticize this book for its extremely long paragraphs but I believe that is the point to draw out these events and it doesn’t necessarily have to break off to be able to show the present and the past. It is a sheer reflection of personhood where time doesn’t pause; everything can and may occur all at once, calamitous or harmless. There are no page breaks in life, and sometimes it takes an effort to hit head-on and hold up.
Personal Impact & Final thoughts… 🤔💭💀
I really have connected with these characters, particularly Jude and his story. It is such a tragedy. And even though this is a work of fiction, the ideas are not. This is a reality for many and no matter how scary, utterly appalling, and painful, stories like this, fiction or not, should be told.
This is not a read just for anyone though, it is a lot of heavy themes and topics regarding around the trauma of child abuse, sexual abuse/assault, self harm and much much more that are written in great detail. So please, if you find topics sensitive I wouldn’t really recommend this book. But if you believe you are strong enough I would really recommend checking this out. It is beautifully crafted and will stay with you whether you want it to or not.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Violence
lois_w'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
Yanagihara's writing means the reader grows with the characters and the tragic past of Jude provokes very high emotions.
I felt myself morally conflicted over Jude's decisions and choices. The darkness of the book reflects the huge struggles within Jude.
There is really no criticism I can give this book the present glances combined with the flashbacks truly made the reader FEEL.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
haleymaas'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, Child death, Death, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Car accident
Minor: Eating disorder
team_worm'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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt