Review by natalief93 - A Little Life

natalief93 's review for:

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

I loved this book deeply. I’ve seen a few reviews which refer to it as ‘trauma porn,’ and I think such a label couldn’t be further from the truth. These experiences are real, and any attempt to discredit them as sensationalist succeeds only at further stigimatising people who have similar experiences. I do have similar experiences of abuse, and unhealthy mechanisms to suppress these experiences, and I found the process of piecing together the unknown parts of Jude’s life heartbreaking yet hauntingly familiar, and I admired Yanagihara’s candour when discussing these subjects. I appreciated the ugliness and the brutality of some the plot points, because these experiences are ugly and brutal, and we cannot truly understand if we do not see them in their entirety. It made me feel incredibly seen, no fiction book has allowed me to be so reflective and introspective.

Though at points it was brutal, I loved the humanity of the characters and their relationships, and I loved that Yanagihara’s prose allowed me to develop deep attachments to each of the characters. I’ve read three books since finishing, and none have come close, and I doubt any will for a little while. A deeply sentimental read.

I will say, if you do have trauma and you find reading traumatic experiences to be triggering, I would delay reading until you are in a better headspace. This book would have hit far too close to home if I had read it a few years ago, or even if I was in a depressive mood/episode. I was very intentional with my reading of this book, and this effort allowed me to enjoy it.

Content Warnings