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A review by lindsfreche
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
why would HK write this. i loved this book and was destroyed by this book; i have never EVER reacted so emotionally to literature. i cried, i sobbed, i gagged, i had to remove myself to take a beat before continuing to read. i loved this book so dearly and grew so attached to the characters. i also will never recommend this book to anyone!!!! i will always ALWAYS think about jude and willem and harold and andy. i will always remember how malcom looked out for jude before jude looked out for himself, and JBs art that always had jude as the main muse.
a little life was so unexpectedly dark and explicit. i don’t think that it is meant to be just trauma on trauma on trauma but a commentary about how trauma doesn’t always make people the best versions of themselves during the healing process. sometimes the healing process hurts the victim as it hurt jude. reading this book was like screaming for help for the characters but nobody hearing you. it was like watching a train crash and being helpless to do anything but watch. the writing was beautiful and didn’t feel “slow” to me because everything everything everything was in there for a reason. it is meant to immerse you in their world and crush you when it’s over. i loved this book!! don’t read it!!
a little life was so unexpectedly dark and explicit. i don’t think that it is meant to be just trauma on trauma on trauma but a commentary about how trauma doesn’t always make people the best versions of themselves during the healing process. sometimes the healing process hurts the victim as it hurt jude. reading this book was like screaming for help for the characters but nobody hearing you. it was like watching a train crash and being helpless to do anything but watch. the writing was beautiful and didn’t feel “slow” to me because everything everything everything was in there for a reason. it is meant to immerse you in their world and crush you when it’s over. i loved this book!! don’t read it!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail