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A review by jaybird_reads
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
No stars because no star rating feels accurate. On one hand, the prose is really beautiful and the book is, at times, incredibly written. On the other, I do not believe this author should have ever written this book.
I will begin this by saying that I am a queer disabled man, and it is for that reason (and my insatiable, sometimes harmful curiosity) that I read this book.
This book is not some great gay novel as so many have claimed. It is not even written about queerness; it just uses sex with men as one of the many ways that Jude is physically and emotionally tortured. Jude’s sexuality, trauma, and disability is not written with empathy — it is written with a sick fascination that is voyeuristic in nature.
Some of the characters are more than lovable. Some of the scenes and relationships are beyond beautiful. I cried over the first description of Jude’s pain because it was so similar to my own. I cried over the care that Harold showed Jude. I don’t care. The point of this book could have been achieved in 200 less pages and with less than half of the atrocities that were done to Jude.
I might write more later, but for now I have finally sat down and read (in one week) this 800 page trauma-porn novel that so many people are undeservedly obsessed with (most likely because our culture is obsessed with trauma and abuse, especially that visited upon queer men) and can finally say from personal experience: do not fucking read this book.
I will begin this by saying that I am a queer disabled man, and it is for that reason (and my insatiable, sometimes harmful curiosity) that I read this book.
This book is not some great gay novel as so many have claimed. It is not even written about queerness; it just uses sex with men as one of the many ways that Jude is physically and emotionally tortured. Jude’s sexuality, trauma, and disability is not written with empathy — it is written with a sick fascination that is voyeuristic in nature.
Some of the characters are more than lovable. Some of the scenes and relationships are beyond beautiful. I cried over the first description of Jude’s pain because it was so similar to my own. I cried over the care that Harold showed Jude. I don’t care. The point of this book could have been achieved in 200 less pages and with less than half of the atrocities that were done to Jude.
I might write more later, but for now I have finally sat down and read (in one week) this 800 page trauma-porn novel that so many people are undeservedly obsessed with (most likely because our culture is obsessed with trauma and abuse, especially that visited upon queer men) and can finally say from personal experience: do not fucking read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Violence, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Vomit, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia