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capellini 's review for:
A Little Life
by Hanya Yanagihara
DID NOT FINISH: 47%
Tired of being emotionally manipulated by this author. I knew what I was getting into but wanted to keep an open mind because everyone seems to be abuzz about this book. I waited 2+ months for my copy at the library and boy howdy am I glad I didn't purchase this. It's going back to the library tonight.
From the get-go, I didn't feel any of this story was genuine. Characters were unlikable and flat. A contest of "woe is me". Folks that look away from their friend's self harming. Folks that just say "you need help" but don't actually do anything about it. "You should see a therapist" but no follow-up. "I just don't understand why you won't talk to me" but show no real reason to be opened up to. From someone who has witnessed people who have self harmed and have had suicidal thoughts, it's maddening.
But what bothered me most about this exceedingly long book was that it's just "if this [sad event] doesn't make you sad, how about THIS?!" over and over again. For 800 pages. It's tiring. People's lives can be horrible and tragic, but the way this was written was borderline exploitative. It's not a journey of overcoming anything--it's just about being sad, staying sad, and doing all in your power to never be anything but sad. Any happy event always has a "yeah, but" tailing it. I'm not sure what the point of this book is and I haven't found out by almost the halfway mark. I'll probably read summaries for the rest of this book and rejoice in crossing off this behemoth.
The cartoon villain-esque ableist abusive boyfriend was the last straw for me."How do you feel about your son being a CRIPPLE?!"--the writing of this character is a joke. It's like they knew a Caleb in real life and didn't like how he talked so they exaggerated him into a Dan Backslide a la Dover Boys.
The idea of reading through another half of this turns my stomach but not for the ways that others have expressed. I'm sorry to those who are waiting in line behind me. It ain't pretty.
From the get-go, I didn't feel any of this story was genuine. Characters were unlikable and flat. A contest of "woe is me". Folks that look away from their friend's self harming. Folks that just say "you need help" but don't actually do anything about it. "You should see a therapist" but no follow-up. "I just don't understand why you won't talk to me" but show no real reason to be opened up to. From someone who has witnessed people who have self harmed and have had suicidal thoughts, it's maddening.
But what bothered me most about this exceedingly long book was that it's just "if this [sad event] doesn't make you sad, how about THIS?!" over and over again. For 800 pages. It's tiring. People's lives can be horrible and tragic, but the way this was written was borderline exploitative. It's not a journey of overcoming anything--it's just about being sad, staying sad, and doing all in your power to never be anything but sad. Any happy event always has a "yeah, but" tailing it. I'm not sure what the point of this book is and I haven't found out by almost the halfway mark. I'll probably read summaries for the rest of this book and rejoice in crossing off this behemoth.
The cartoon villain-esque ableist abusive boyfriend was the last straw for me.
The idea of reading through another half of this turns my stomach but not for the ways that others have expressed. I'm sorry to those who are waiting in line behind me. It ain't pretty.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Blood, Vomit