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A review by rorythebookworm
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
5.0
5/5 ⭐️
i want to start off by saying PLEASE read the trigger warnings for this book. i tried to mentally prepare myself for this book but holy hell, no amount preparation could’ve braved myself for that.
i found this book to be both tragic and also beautiful. beautiful in the way the author talks about friendship, family, and love. the friendships amongst the four main characters have their peaks and falls. nonetheless, seeing jude and willem’s friendship grow was something so genuine and wholesome. they viewed each other with so much love and respect. i felt like i knew these characters personally and like they were my friends too. tragic in terms of just the horrible events that happened. specifically with jude. at some points i found myself sobbing inconsolably over how brutal and graphic these scenes were.
i know that this book is often classified as “trauma porn” and jude’s character specifically endures heinous scenarios throughout the book. i feel like this book shows how complex trauma and retraumatization effects one’s life from childhood into adulthood. it follows you and often times becomes debilitating. especially given jude’s physical health as a result of his traumas. the author’s writing was very descriptive and just cruel there is no denying that. the ableism specifically made me sick with disgust.
overall, i did like reading this book. i wouldn’t recommend it just cause of how heavy and emotionally taxing it is
i want to start off by saying PLEASE read the trigger warnings for this book. i tried to mentally prepare myself for this book but holy hell, no amount preparation could’ve braved myself for that.
i found this book to be both tragic and also beautiful. beautiful in the way the author talks about friendship, family, and love. the friendships amongst the four main characters have their peaks and falls. nonetheless, seeing jude and willem’s friendship grow was something so genuine and wholesome. they viewed each other with so much love and respect. i felt like i knew these characters personally and like they were my friends too. tragic in terms of just the horrible events that happened. specifically with jude. at some points i found myself sobbing inconsolably over how brutal and graphic these scenes were.
i know that this book is often classified as “trauma porn” and jude’s character specifically endures heinous scenarios throughout the book. i feel like this book shows how complex trauma and retraumatization effects one’s life from childhood into adulthood. it follows you and often times becomes debilitating. especially given jude’s physical health as a result of his traumas. the author’s writing was very descriptive and just cruel there is no denying that. the ableism specifically made me sick with disgust.
overall, i did like reading this book. i wouldn’t recommend it just cause of how heavy and emotionally taxing it is