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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Of course I wanted to love this. While I understand much of the criticism of A Little Life, it was for me an all consuming read.
This is not. While I quite enjoyed the first and final books, the middle section was so disengaging that I had to force myself to finish it.
Overall it was heavy handed (not just the physical weight of a 700 page book) and too obvious in many places. Yanagihara still has a lovely way with prose, for this reason book one was my favourite. But it needed an editor with more urgency.
This is not. While I quite enjoyed the first and final books, the middle section was so disengaging that I had to force myself to finish it.
Overall it was heavy handed (not just the physical weight of a 700 page book) and too obvious in many places. Yanagihara still has a lovely way with prose, for this reason book one was my favourite. But it needed an editor with more urgency.
do you know how hard it is to finish a book this long without enjoying it for even a second?
i do.
it is roughly as hard as the following things:
- having just one cookie
- pretending to listen to people who are telling you in detail about their dreams
- engaging in something called "exercise"
- writing a review under 478239478923 words.
and yet here we are. i did it.
AND FOR WHAT.
i'm kind of uninterested, as a rule, in engaging with what authors deem to be The Purpose of their books. i don't believe in separating the art from the artist (it's altogether impossible), but i am a firm disciple of the concept that your average reader's opinion on the meaning of a work is not only as valuable as its creator's, but in fact both more significant and typically more interesting.
that's a long-winded way of saying that all of hanya's bullsh*t-spewing about why she keeps writing about gay men and doesn't believe in therapy and generally sounds like every globally minded mindfulness expert's specific nemesis has nothing to do with her work to me.
so in a sense, i forgive her for it, because it doesn't matter in my reading experience.
what i can't forgive her for is being long-winded, self-indulgent, pointless and meandering, and above all, DULL.
i wanted to believe that the people in the trees, in all its thoroughly-tread exploration of cliché, was the outlier, but it appears that a little life, which, for all its issues and red flags, is a stunning achievement, was a total one off for our dear ms yanagihara.
this is as different from that as an oatmeal creme pie is from a twinkie. both are disturbing crimes against humanity, but one is addictive and impressive and the other is just unholy.
i read this in the midst of a truly insane reading month, one in which i was typically reading half a dozen books at a time and alternating chapters because i physically could not stop reading.
these chapters were mostly alternated between a classic and a tiktok-famous semi-YA fantasy, and the writing matched one and was leagues below the other.
i'll let you guess.
i did not care about a single character in the first section, and in fact hated them so much i prayed on their respective downfalls, a phenomenon that continued into the second story and only relented a bit in the third because i was so relieved at the unexpected treat of a female character that i almost had to be grateful by default.
that didn't last long, either.
it was almost comical how snooze-worthy this was, and in fact i would have had a good laugh if it didn't take me a week and an undue amount of suffering to finish. maybe if i had a moment's relief, but this book had no plot, no memorable characters, no striking writing, nothing new to add to the idea of the pandemic novel, no real backbone to hold up its experimental structure or playfulness with perspective, and ultimately, it felt to me, no meaning.
that's a lot of nothing.
bottom line: if you don't have anything nice to say, you're not supposed to say anything at all...but i already wrote this whole review, so i'll just drop this to one star instead.
------------------------
currently-reading updates
hanya yanagihara books are good because you get to spend 800 pages' worth of time upsetting yourself
------------------------
tbr review
hanya yanagihara being one of my auto-buy authors will surely bring me nothing but suffering. but here we are
i do.
it is roughly as hard as the following things:
- having just one cookie
- pretending to listen to people who are telling you in detail about their dreams
- engaging in something called "exercise"
- writing a review under 478239478923 words.
and yet here we are. i did it.
AND FOR WHAT.
i'm kind of uninterested, as a rule, in engaging with what authors deem to be The Purpose of their books. i don't believe in separating the art from the artist (it's altogether impossible), but i am a firm disciple of the concept that your average reader's opinion on the meaning of a work is not only as valuable as its creator's, but in fact both more significant and typically more interesting.
that's a long-winded way of saying that all of hanya's bullsh*t-spewing about why she keeps writing about gay men and doesn't believe in therapy and generally sounds like every globally minded mindfulness expert's specific nemesis has nothing to do with her work to me.
so in a sense, i forgive her for it, because it doesn't matter in my reading experience.
what i can't forgive her for is being long-winded, self-indulgent, pointless and meandering, and above all, DULL.
i wanted to believe that the people in the trees, in all its thoroughly-tread exploration of cliché, was the outlier, but it appears that a little life, which, for all its issues and red flags, is a stunning achievement, was a total one off for our dear ms yanagihara.
this is as different from that as an oatmeal creme pie is from a twinkie. both are disturbing crimes against humanity, but one is addictive and impressive and the other is just unholy.
i read this in the midst of a truly insane reading month, one in which i was typically reading half a dozen books at a time and alternating chapters because i physically could not stop reading.
these chapters were mostly alternated between a classic and a tiktok-famous semi-YA fantasy, and the writing matched one and was leagues below the other.
i'll let you guess.
i did not care about a single character in the first section, and in fact hated them so much i prayed on their respective downfalls, a phenomenon that continued into the second story and only relented a bit in the third because i was so relieved at the unexpected treat of a female character that i almost had to be grateful by default.
that didn't last long, either.
it was almost comical how snooze-worthy this was, and in fact i would have had a good laugh if it didn't take me a week and an undue amount of suffering to finish. maybe if i had a moment's relief, but this book had no plot, no memorable characters, no striking writing, nothing new to add to the idea of the pandemic novel, no real backbone to hold up its experimental structure or playfulness with perspective, and ultimately, it felt to me, no meaning.
that's a lot of nothing.
bottom line: if you don't have anything nice to say, you're not supposed to say anything at all...but i already wrote this whole review, so i'll just drop this to one star instead.
------------------------
currently-reading updates
hanya yanagihara books are good because you get to spend 800 pages' worth of time upsetting yourself
------------------------
tbr review
hanya yanagihara being one of my auto-buy authors will surely bring me nothing but suffering. but here we are
Pfff...here we go.
This book broke me, but I truly think I read it differently than people on the political left. I loved the way various subjects (homosexuality, racism, colonialism, relationships, culture, heritage, family, trans-generational trauma) were handled and the writing style is amazing, greater than life, exactly what one would expect from the amazing Hanya Yanagihara.
The book is split into 3 parts. Most people seem to have enjoyed the first or the second part the most, but I honestly loved the third one, it was the most realistic and horrific of them all, and the horror behind it, the dystopia behind it should only be felt by those of us who did not embrace the retardation of the pandemic, the "stay inside" bullshit, the obsession with viruses and diseases to the point where nothing else mattered. The third part of this book is a visceral representation, expertly described, of our future society, especially if we fail to reject the modern day progressive narratives. And yes, minorities will suffer most of all. But okay, I suppose only time will tell.
This book is enormous and complicated. I adored the narratives, the different voices and I really, really enjoyed the focus on family relationships. That part really hurt my soul, it was so sensitive, so real, so unique in today's cringe literature. Not often is the grandparent - grandchild dynamic so heart-achingly rendered. The themes of disease, death, societal norms, cultural heritage are all entangled with the domestic.
One thing that confused me and was, in the end, less than satisfactory, was the author's choice to reuse the same names for characters. I thought they would be reincarnations or relatives, but I felt that they were more concentric stories, all set around the same core concepts and values, but set in 3 different times. That is how I ended up reading it, anyway and maybe that confusion was intentional.
I totally recommend this book to everyone, but I am 100% certain that one's political leanings and level of culture will impact how this is read and enjoyed. Regardless, Hanya Yanagihara created a heartstopper once again, in my opinion, on par with her previous masterpiece. Give yourselves a month and a half for this one.
This book broke me, but I truly think I read it differently than people on the political left. I loved the way various subjects (homosexuality, racism, colonialism, relationships, culture, heritage, family, trans-generational trauma) were handled and the writing style is amazing, greater than life, exactly what one would expect from the amazing Hanya Yanagihara.
The book is split into 3 parts. Most people seem to have enjoyed the first or the second part the most, but I honestly loved the third one, it was the most realistic and horrific of them all, and the horror behind it, the dystopia behind it should only be felt by those of us who did not embrace the retardation of the pandemic, the "stay inside" bullshit, the obsession with viruses and diseases to the point where nothing else mattered. The third part of this book is a visceral representation, expertly described, of our future society, especially if we fail to reject the modern day progressive narratives. And yes, minorities will suffer most of all. But okay, I suppose only time will tell.
This book is enormous and complicated. I adored the narratives, the different voices and I really, really enjoyed the focus on family relationships. That part really hurt my soul, it was so sensitive, so real, so unique in today's cringe literature. Not often is the grandparent - grandchild dynamic so heart-achingly rendered. The themes of disease, death, societal norms, cultural heritage are all entangled with the domestic.
One thing that confused me and was, in the end, less than satisfactory, was the author's choice to reuse the same names for characters. I thought they would be reincarnations or relatives, but I felt that they were more concentric stories, all set around the same core concepts and values, but set in 3 different times. That is how I ended up reading it, anyway and maybe that confusion was intentional.
I totally recommend this book to everyone, but I am 100% certain that one's political leanings and level of culture will impact how this is read and enjoyed. Regardless, Hanya Yanagihara created a heartstopper once again, in my opinion, on par with her previous masterpiece. Give yourselves a month and a half for this one.
Een héel lang boek, maar toch voelde geen pagina te veel. Het boek is verdeelt in drie delen die je opzich als aparte verhalen kan lezen en zien maar toch verbonden zijn met elkaar. Het is prachtig geschreven (zoals ik gewoon ben van Hanya Yanagihara) en je voelt je verbonden met de karakters op een speciale manier. Als je tegen dikke boeken kan is dit 100% een aanrader!!!
Decided to DNF this after like 400 pages bc it was too boring and I didn’t care about the story at all. The first part was interesting but the rest was just so boring.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
Beautifully written, for sure, but can’t say I’m sold.
Round up to 3.5
Nothing like or anywhere near as amazing as A Little Life, but the stories were good.
Hanya is good at writing about the human emotions. The need for love, to be understood, to have our human rights be allowed and uphold, how it feels to yearn for others, care for others, need to be rid of others. Jealousy, lust, fear, hope. It is all there, just within a lot of rambling. Could have been 150 pages shorter.
Read it for book club, may not have finished it otherwise. I unfortunately missed her at the Melbourne Writer's festival which I was hoping to hear more about the reuse of the names and if they were all related somehow.
Nothing like or anywhere near as amazing as A Little Life, but the stories were good.
Hanya is good at writing about the human emotions. The need for love, to be understood, to have our human rights be allowed and uphold, how it feels to yearn for others, care for others, need to be rid of others. Jealousy, lust, fear, hope. It is all there, just within a lot of rambling. Could have been 150 pages shorter.
Read it for book club, may not have finished it otherwise. I unfortunately missed her at the Melbourne Writer's festival which I was hoping to hear more about the reuse of the names and if they were all related somehow.
I read all 3 Hanya Yanagihara books this year. I read “People in the Trees” first and LOVED it, so I read “A Little Life” since that one had the most hype but felt it was over-rated / characters didn’t feel real although it was beautifully written. “To Paradise” was another great one. This is the most complicated/advanced book she has written in terms of plot since these are 3 stories with similarities, all set in alternate histories/futures of the U.S. with the same character names. I will say that if you are not a fan of ambiguous endings, do not read this as you may be left frustrated by the end; the ambiguity sometimes seems more like a “haha I made you read this 700+ page book for no reason” and less of a literary tool when we think of productive ambiguity. Touches a lot on race, AAPI heritage/culture, and marriage which are not very relevant in any of her other novels. She even has a ROUND FEMALE PROTAGONIST in one of the stories; all of her other works are told from / about men which has really started to bother me. 5/5 for me because beautiful convincing writing, plot, and characters.