A review by bnhunt
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is definitely the most depressing book I have ever read. It’s full of misery, depression, self-harm, substance abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, the list can go on and on. It basically has every trigger warning a book should have. And there’s rarely any uplifting glimpses in this entire 700 page novel. It’s very slowly placed yet still captivating in the prose although I do believe it got repetitive and probably 200 pages could’ve been removed without changing the overall impact the author was seeking (which is to depress you BTW). Brace yourself for misery if you plan to read this one, and I’d suggest pairing it with something upbeat to not get you in a slump. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment