callanisreading 's review for:

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

4.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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After they meet in college, Jude and his three closest friends prove inseparable; in the decades that follow, the quartet navigates relationships that shift in the wake of fame, pride, and trauma. Jude weathers years of quiet strife, his happiness at odds with a past that haunts and, he feels, defines him. In compelling prose, Yanagihara chronicles a lifetime of love and unspeakable cruelty in this punishingly sad tome. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Car accident, Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse