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gracedupree_ 's review for:
A Little Life
by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Let me start off by listing what's wrong with this book, because nothing will ever be able to excuse its mistakes.
- it's racist (not just according to the characters or to set the tone for the time period... it's weird writing about the black vs. white struggle as an Asian woman who has done no research on the subject....)
- they measure success by very classist metrics
- All it seems to protray is that life=suffering and then you die (hopefully sooner rather than later)
- its portrayal of gay men is so, so bad that they should've just not
- there is no point. Authors purpose?? Certainly not for pleasure. Or education or enjoyment or advertisement.
- it romanticizes abuse and trauma and self harm and suffering. This book is just one love letter to suffering. It even teaches you how to do it, and goes into excessively gruesome detail for far too long for it to just be inform a reader by utilizing shock value... it often fetishizes it, interlacing these scenes with sexual desire and/or eroticism
- it's repetitive. Like Jesus christ 400 pages is just recounting of Jude's past. This book didn't need to be 814 pages.
- because of how long and repetitive it is i was bored for a little. Like I'd never thought I'd get so bored reading incredibly detailed and gross accounts of abuse. But I did. I strolled through it, barely batting an eye, yawning.
infuriating, pointless, abusive, disrespectful, abhorrent, divisive, weaponized, trash
- it's racist (not just according to the characters or to set the tone for the time period... it's weird writing about the black vs. white struggle as an Asian woman who has done no research on the subject....)
- they measure success by very classist metrics
- All it seems to protray is that life=suffering and then you die (hopefully sooner rather than later)
- its portrayal of gay men is so, so bad that they should've just not
- there is no point. Authors purpose?? Certainly not for pleasure. Or education or enjoyment or advertisement.
- it romanticizes abuse and trauma and self harm and suffering. This book is just one love letter to suffering. It even teaches you how to do it, and goes into excessively gruesome detail for far too long for it to just be inform a reader by utilizing shock value... it often fetishizes it, interlacing these scenes with sexual desire and/or eroticism
- it's repetitive. Like Jesus christ 400 pages is just recounting of Jude's past. This book didn't need to be 814 pages.
- because of how long and repetitive it is i was bored for a little. Like I'd never thought I'd get so bored reading incredibly detailed and gross accounts of abuse. But I did. I strolled through it, barely batting an eye, yawning.
infuriating, pointless, abusive, disrespectful, abhorrent, divisive, weaponized, trash
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism