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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
in every time, in every version of reality, in every piece of land that has ever been called or claimed by America, there will be men who promise us paradise, and we will have no choice but to trust them.
Let's preface this review by saying this is my first book by this author. I'm not sure if Hanya's writing style is "go big or go home", but this book was all about go BIG...as in 700+ pages.
I felt that while reading this book I could liken it to what it must feel like to climb Mt. Everest....that is, if I was someone who is physically fit. My cardio includes running copies on the copier at work.
The first section of the book was the ascent part of climbing Mt. Everest. You keep telling yourself the journey is going to be amazing and you can do it. The view looks great and you are in great spirits. You are starting to understand all the hype. I would rate the first part of the book, 3 stars.
Now here we are continuing our climb up the mountainside and you begin asking yourself, "why am I doing this?" The journey seems to be never-ending and you have no idea how you landed yourself here. I can honestly tell you that I have no idea what happened in part 2 of the book, it was that bad. If I wasn't nearing the half-way part of the book, I would have DNF it. 1 star.
Just when it seems like all hope is lost and we are going to end up a casualty of Mt. Everest, part 3 comes and you are revived. You recall why you picked up this book in the first place, for the dystopian world that has been crafted in 2093. As you have reached the summit of Mt. Everest you realized how much you thoroughly enjoyed part 3 and wished that it was a standalone book. This part of the book was easily 5 stars for me.
Climbing down from Mt. Everest you start reevaluating your life. Would I do this again? No, I would not read this book in its' entirety again. Is there anything I would have changed? Yes, skipped parts 1 & 2 of the book and read only part 3. Did I enjoy the journey? I like that I can brag that I read a book that is at least 3.5 times longer than an average adult book.
Also, I hope that you will never have to personally climb Mt. Everest with an individual named: David or Charles/Charlie. Because after this book, you will want to run the other way or quickly give a new nickname if you encounter someone that is named David or Charles.
I felt that while reading this book I could liken it to what it must feel like to climb Mt. Everest....that is, if I was someone who is physically fit. My cardio includes running copies on the copier at work.
The first section of the book was the ascent part of climbing Mt. Everest. You keep telling yourself the journey is going to be amazing and you can do it. The view looks great and you are in great spirits. You are starting to understand all the hype. I would rate the first part of the book, 3 stars.
Now here we are continuing our climb up the mountainside and you begin asking yourself, "why am I doing this?" The journey seems to be never-ending and you have no idea how you landed yourself here. I can honestly tell you that I have no idea what happened in part 2 of the book, it was that bad. If I wasn't nearing the half-way part of the book, I would have DNF it. 1 star.
Just when it seems like all hope is lost and we are going to end up a casualty of Mt. Everest, part 3 comes and you are revived. You recall why you picked up this book in the first place, for the dystopian world that has been crafted in 2093. As you have reached the summit of Mt. Everest you realized how much you thoroughly enjoyed part 3 and wished that it was a standalone book. This part of the book was easily 5 stars for me.
Climbing down from Mt. Everest you start reevaluating your life. Would I do this again? No, I would not read this book in its' entirety again. Is there anything I would have changed? Yes, skipped parts 1 & 2 of the book and read only part 3. Did I enjoy the journey? I like that I can brag that I read a book that is at least 3.5 times longer than an average adult book.
Also, I hope that you will never have to personally climb Mt. Everest with an individual named: David or Charles/Charlie. Because after this book, you will want to run the other way or quickly give a new nickname if you encounter someone that is named David or Charles.
... I'm rly not sure.
The prose is exquisite, the topics are important and you somehow feel connected BUT it was unnecessary long ... Also .. why 3 stories in a 700 pages book? Why
The prose is exquisite, the topics are important and you somehow feel connected BUT it was unnecessary long ... Also .. why 3 stories in a 700 pages book? Why
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I saw a post on Instagram about this book from Goop. The reviewer said "I feel like I was smart enough to catch 50 percent of the connections in..." this book. And that's exactly how I felt when I read it. Don't get me wrong - I LOVED it. It was beautifully written, and I was so caught up in each of the stories in each of the books.
But I felt like I was supposed to be understanding more than I was - that Yanagihara was leading me to more, but I just could not put my finger on it. Yes, I realize that the characters overlapped in all three books. Yes, I realized each book took place 100 years apart - just a few years before the turn of each century. Yes, I realized that much of the book even took place in the same house in NYC. In Book 3, they actually even referenced the story of Book 1!
But am I missing something? Are all of these characters related? Reincarnations? Living in parallel worlds? (All up for interpretation?) I think I would have enjoyed and appreciated this even more if I had read it as part of a book club - there is obviously much to discuss.
I waivered between four and five stars on this one - though I ultimately went with five - I do wish the story tied together the worlds somehow (and I really want to know what happened to each of the characters at the end of their books!).
*I read this as part of the 2022 Popsugar Reading Challenge - "A book published in 2022"
But I felt like I was supposed to be understanding more than I was - that Yanagihara was leading me to more, but I just could not put my finger on it. Yes, I realize that the characters overlapped in all three books. Yes, I realized each book took place 100 years apart - just a few years before the turn of each century. Yes, I realized that much of the book even took place in the same house in NYC. In Book 3, they actually even referenced the story of Book 1!
But am I missing something? Are all of these characters related? Reincarnations? Living in parallel worlds? (All up for interpretation?) I think I would have enjoyed and appreciated this even more if I had read it as part of a book club - there is obviously much to discuss.
I waivered between four and five stars on this one - though I ultimately went with five - I do wish the story tied together the worlds somehow (and I really want to know what happened to each of the characters at the end of their books!).
*I read this as part of the 2022 Popsugar Reading Challenge - "A book published in 2022"
I read A Little Life night after night, up with a newborn, in 2015. In whatever way, I was in a good space to take that in. The book hasn't sat especially well with me since then, and with all the hubbub around this more recent publication, I wasn't planning to read it. But then I got intrigued, picked it up - and immediately lost the feeling of intrigue as I started reading. Maybe I'll try picking it up again at another time.
I realllly enjoyed this book despite the fact it was 700 pages. Really liked the settings and characters. I am annoyed this only adds 1 book to my goodreads challenge instead of 3 though -_-