A review by amelianotthepilot
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

what a book
i simultaneously want everyone to read this and want no one to read it

an 800 page epic of a story detailing a life lived. Hanya Yanagihara has such a beautiful way of detailing daily life and it’s ebs and flows in such a mundane but entrancing way. Time is fluid as she jumps from present to past to future in the way someone tells a story to their friends. It changes perspective a few times which i found slightly confusing being that almost all the characters are male.

all on little lispenard

I enjoyed how a lot of the characters were queer in some way but in a casual and nonchalant way.
I enjoyed the diversity of representation: mental health, physical disability, queerness

However there are so many triggers in this book it is sorta ridiculous

TW for the following: chronic illness, sibling death, sexual abuse, rape, physical abuse, mental abuse, abusive partner, abusive parent, child abuse, sexual assault, self harm, suicide, suicidal thoughts, medical trauma, abduction, kid napping, ptsd, partner death, death, abandonment, addiction, adult/minor relationship, alcoholism, alcohol, drug use, blood, body dysmorphia, body shaming, bullying, car accident, confinement, domestic abuse, dysphoria, eating disorder, emotional abuse, vomit, fire, fire injury, amputation, forced institutionalization, grief, gore, medical trauma, gaslighting, pedophilia, grooming, injury detail, medical content, mental illness, panic attacks, sexual content, sexual violence, stalking, suicide attempt, terminal illness, torture, toxic relationship

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail