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nancykz'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: Child abuse, Medical content, Violence, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Rape, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Child death
Moderate: Abandonment, Car accident, Death, and Death of parent
cecifeli'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
1.5
Don’t get me wrong (i’m not heartless), sometimes it was tender and sweet. It was just a lot to handle and it seemed like a very unrealistic, deranged situation. (I know it’s fiction, and I know it’s purpose is not to reflect real life. But the trauma upon trauma upon trauma, made me detached from the story, and it felt at times I was reading a telenovela.)
Amazing writing and pacing. A real page turner even though sometimes you were so heartbroken that the last you’d wanna do is find out what happens next. Fully fledged characters and a slow steady pace. Yanagihara is a very talented writer. I read it in 3 days.
I didn’t like it. I didn’t cry (not that that matters). Not for the faint hearted though. Made me reflect. Sometimes I think it’s decent, sometimes I thinks it’s torture porn (this is up for the readers interpretation). Idk if I’ll read more from her.
PS By unrealistic i mean this:
Idk how to feel abt Jude’s entourage, I think they should’ve pushed harder into therapy and hospitals and help in general. This is my bone to pick w the author. But hell, what do I know?
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Grief, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Self harm, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Abortion
lotties_corner'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? It's complicated
5.0
This book has completely changed how I look at the random stranger that passes me on the street, how I see the reflection that stares back at me through the mirror, how I approach my own life and how it will impact other people.
A Little Life follows a group of four friends, not always chronologically, from childhood through to adulthood with a remarkable account of their trials, joys, relationships, and humanity
Yanagihara created characters so real you feel yourself attempting to reach through the page, trying to turn your own hand into ink if only to offer them a second of comfort. You see your own flaws in all of them, in wanting so desperately to help them fix themselves, you become determined to fix yourself.
Malcom, the wallflower, the one whose kindness you cannot truly see until the end. He taught me to look at everything you can with how it may influence others in ways that you may never experience or comprehend.
JB, so flawed and yet so real. I found it so easy to be critical of him, to see his flaws despite sharing so many of them (although, I know, not to the same extent).
Willem. It is impossible, I think, to read A Little Life and not fall in love with Willem. Willem who cares so deeply and loves so freely. He is so selfless despite his hyper fixations on his own shortcomings. His obsession with how he could have done better pained me so much as I could only see all the good he had done for those around him. If he still thought that wasn’t enough, surely nothing is?
Then Jude. Jude who was so brilliant but so weighed down. The kind of person who life is so much heavier for, who has been through so much and yet cannot recognise his own incredible strength.
MAJOR SPOILERS FROM NOW ON:
But Willem. Willem’s death broke me. It came completely out of nowhere for me and I genuinely cried out when I read it. Jude was not made to live a life without Willem, that was my immediate thought. But was Willem capable of living a life without Jude? He had lost Hemming, he had spent years untangling Jude, working his way into his life and building trust, becoming the only person Jude could ever completely bare himself to. I don’t think he would have survived Jude’s suicide, he would have become a shell of the man he once was. So I share Harold and Andy’s pined comfort, that at least Willem wasn’t around to see it.
The car crash was devastating. So much so that I actually can’t record some of the thoughts I had when I read it. But it was what followed that broke me. Watching the grief take hold of Jude, watching him lose his grip on reality and the only other relationships he valued, that was near unbearable and yet I couldn’t put it down.
The final part being told from Harold’s pov made so much sense but was also so painful (like basically every other moment of this book). Harold’s pain was so greatly under looked, he lost Jacob and then he found Jude, only to lose him too. No parent should outlive their child, yet he outlived both.
Speaking of underrated characters, Andy - so incredibly beautifully written and such a complex and compelling character.
Anyway, I won’t ever be able to fully articulate how incredible A Little Life is, partially because I found so much of my own pain and experiences in the pages (although, of course not to nearly the same extremes) but it is genuinely the most impactful book I’ve ever read. However I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone as it is such an emotionally difficult read. My only advice would be to make sure you’re in a mentally stable place before reading, and have a lot of tissues on hand (unless you’re more used to the open sobbing on a bathroom floor route, which I also respect and was my chosen route).
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, Abandonment, Car accident, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Vomit, Trafficking, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping
Warning: This book is incredibly dark and goes into great detail about mental illness, trauma and child abuse.becphe'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Pedophilia, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Self harm, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Torture, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Mental illness, Body horror, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Confinement, Vomit, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Violence, Outing, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Kidnapping, Infidelity, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
dragonsandfoxes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Dementia, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Bullying, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Torture, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Addiction, Grief, Cancer, Gore, Sexual harassment, and Trafficking
juliarenae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Suicide, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Addiction, Self harm, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Chronic illness, Car accident, Blood, Physical abuse, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Gore, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Cursing, Death, Toxic friendship, and Medical trauma
delisouseyelids's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Car accident, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Self harm, Rape, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Classism, Homophobia, Gore, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Ableism, Death of parent, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Addiction, Bullying, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Medical content
laceyhopper'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: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Eating disorder, Self harm, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Violence, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Rape, Mental illness, Suicide, Body shaming, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
evieold's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Not a fan of trauma for traumas sake as so many brand this genre and books like ‘My Year Of Rest And Relaxation’, but this does not compare as it has a deeper level of truth, of a real life.
A true masterpiece of what to live a life is like, and the emotions, contradictions, and trauma which can come with it. A book, although painful, I will read many times more, and that is saying something from someone who does not reread books often if at all.
Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Rape, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Medical content, Hate crime, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Gore, Torture, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Vomit, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Kidnapping
angielivesandbreathes'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
4.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Rape, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, Death, Kidnapping, Cursing, Hate crime, Vomit, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Child death, Outing, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Ableism