A review by marissa_lilac
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This books is no doubt worthy five stars, only earning less than for the sheer amount of pain that ensued every time I picked it up. Despite the appearance of convolution, given its 800 page count, it would be simply incorrect to call A Little Life slow paced, for every section not only spans multiple points of view, but also decades of our character’s lives. The way Hanya uses the the backdrop of New York City and metropolitan life as not a motivation for any of the characters, but as context of their strife, beautifully exemplifies how  a setting can cradle a narrative rather than control it. The twisting and unfurling character development leaves the reader heartbroken and truly unprepared at the wrath of Hanya’s writing. Every choice the characters make, despite better moral judgement, the reader is able to rationalize and empathize with. Hanya’s depiction of gender dynamics forces the reader to regard male suffrage in a whole new way that defies the male facade of one specific cultural behavior, and depicts men as more than just perpetrators and protagonists, giving them the role of victims; to each other and to masculinity as a whole. As a reader who often find the most moving narratives through similar perspectives, A Little Life’s use of singularity and dramatic individualism has encouraged me to keep seeking out perspectives that  force ostracization and coercion to understand the transcendence of empathy over sympathy
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