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A review by bellep4
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
1.5
Saw so much controversy online that I decided to read it to be able to form a first hand opinion myself. In summary and without spoilers first: 1 star for the way it is beautifully written in terms of the language used and some of the descriptions and .5 stars for the very small portions of the story I find to be well written and planned out, however I would label this as trauma p*rn as someone who does not shy away from sad, tense, and heavy topics in all types of media, especially books.
Okay SPOILERS going forward.
1. Up until the half-way point I was willing to give this book more benefit of doubt, I was leaning towards "this may not be for me and not well thought but also not entirely horrible", and then I got to the Caleb chapters. This section just came out of nowhere, yes we have heard about Jude's trauma (focusing on sexual and physical abuse throughout his childhood) and we know he has incredibly low self-esteem. However, we also know that he is closed-off from people, and how hard it is for him to welcome others into his private life. So Jude getting into a relationship so fast with a man he has JUST MET and letting him into his house (his safe place, his most private place) like right away just makes no sense for his character, and then with all the abuse and detailed descriptions of it that follow in just 30ish pages...that's what tipped the scale for me, that's when I knew the author really did not care about making sense or being consistent and was just looking to traumatize her readers.
2. I believe you can write realistic books about the harder truths of life, and there are definitely people who have gone through so much, too much, and it is unfair and makes your skin crawl. However, as someone who has gone through some of what Jude went through, I felt this book solely focused of the bad and the negative THE ENTIRE TIME,. Even during the "Happy Years" when Jude and Willem get into a relationship and they are mostly happy and are able to overcome a lot as friends and a couple, the chapters will briefly mention like "oh yeah they were happy together" and then go into never-ending descriptions of all the buts and the issues in the relationship but not putting anywhere near the same effort into describing their happiness and joyful/peaceful moments, which leads me into my next point.
3. There is nothing more to the characters- Jude especially since the other 3 fizzle out as the story progresses which is something I disliked but narratively can be argued has a point and makes sense- beyond their trauma. That is their entire personality, and this is simply unrealistic, especially because Jude grows up to have a very successful career and very close circle of pole who love, support and genuinely care for him. But the author never cares to truly develop or discuss these things if without immediately relating it to Jude's trauma or taking it as an opportunity to expand on it.
4. After I finished I did some research and found out the author actually said they did not believe in therapy (which become very very obvious in the second half of the book) and that she wanted to create a character that was beyond repair. Now, not only is this an incredibly harmful ideology, but it is also lazy. She does not explore the complexities of reality and mental illness and depression/anxiety/self-harm/suicide.
5. I do not actually take issue with the fact that Willem dies when he and Jude seem happiest, i do think this part is realistic and life just sometimes is so unpredictable, nor with the fact that Jude does end up committing suicide, something we are told by Harold that will happen in the middle of the book right after the Caleb chapters. So it is not that a sad ending is what has fueled my dislike and disdain for this book, it is everything else before it, especially the lack of personality and development the characters have. They are not really people, the author clearly hates them and her readers, they, once again Jude especially, are merely personifications of all the most horrible and traumatic events a person can go through.
I do somewhat understand why there are people who like this book and say it has changed them, as I said in the begging the language used is beautiful and, mostly in the pages after Jude's death, there are some very inspiring and quotable passages. I did not like this book- mainly because if enrages me more than it saddens me- at all and would not recommend it to my worst enemy.
Okay SPOILERS going forward.
1. Up until the half-way point I was willing to give this book more benefit of doubt, I was leaning towards "this may not be for me and not well thought but also not entirely horrible", and then I got to the Caleb chapters. This section just came out of nowhere, yes we have heard about Jude's trauma (focusing on sexual and physical abuse throughout his childhood) and we know he has incredibly low self-esteem. However, we also know that he is closed-off from people, and how hard it is for him to welcome others into his private life. So Jude getting into a relationship so fast with a man he has JUST MET and letting him into his house (his safe place, his most private place) like right away just makes no sense for his character, and then with all the abuse and detailed descriptions of it that follow in just 30ish pages...that's what tipped the scale for me, that's when I knew the author really did not care about making sense or being consistent and was just looking to traumatize her readers.
2. I believe you can write realistic books about the harder truths of life, and there are definitely people who have gone through so much, too much, and it is unfair and makes your skin crawl. However, as someone who has gone through some of what Jude went through, I felt this book solely focused of the bad and the negative THE ENTIRE TIME,. Even during the "Happy Years" when Jude and Willem get into a relationship and they are mostly happy and are able to overcome a lot as friends and a couple, the chapters will briefly mention like "oh yeah they were happy together" and then go into never-ending descriptions of all the buts and the issues in the relationship but not putting anywhere near the same effort into describing their happiness and joyful/peaceful moments, which leads me into my next point.
3. There is nothing more to the characters- Jude especially since the other 3 fizzle out as the story progresses which is something I disliked but narratively can be argued has a point and makes sense- beyond their trauma. That is their entire personality, and this is simply unrealistic, especially because Jude grows up to have a very successful career and very close circle of pole who love, support and genuinely care for him. But the author never cares to truly develop or discuss these things if without immediately relating it to Jude's trauma or taking it as an opportunity to expand on it.
4. After I finished I did some research and found out the author actually said they did not believe in therapy (which become very very obvious in the second half of the book) and that she wanted to create a character that was beyond repair. Now, not only is this an incredibly harmful ideology, but it is also lazy. She does not explore the complexities of reality and mental illness and depression/anxiety/self-harm/suicide.
5. I do not actually take issue with the fact that Willem dies when he and Jude seem happiest, i do think this part is realistic and life just sometimes is so unpredictable, nor with the fact that Jude does end up committing suicide, something we are told by Harold that will happen in the middle of the book right after the Caleb chapters. So it is not that a sad ending is what has fueled my dislike and disdain for this book, it is everything else before it, especially the lack of personality and development the characters have. They are not really people, the author clearly hates them and her readers, they, once again Jude especially, are merely personifications of all the most horrible and traumatic events a person can go through.
I do somewhat understand why there are people who like this book and say it has changed them, as I said in the begging the language used is beautiful and, mostly in the pages after Jude's death, there are some very inspiring and quotable passages. I did not like this book- mainly because if enrages me more than it saddens me- at all and would not recommend it to my worst enemy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Vomit, Eating disorder, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Take the trigger warnings very very seriously before reading this book if you choose to do so.