A review by eliel
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I appreciate this book the most for the beautiful characters (particularly Harold and Willem) and how kind they are. The writing makes the book a smooth read even if it is lengthy. What takes more than a full star away from this book is the quantity of evil adult males Jude faces in his childhood, it feels unrealistic that he is abused by literally all men he meets.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Self harm, Violence, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic relationship