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lou_loo 's review for:
A Little Life
by Hanya Yanagihara
DID NOT FINISH: 27%
I made the terrible mistake of picking up this book after people on the internet had put it in tiktoks like "books that broke my heart" in which you can find books like The Song of Achilles, The Way I Used to Be or If He Had Been With Me... All of this to say I had no idea what I was getting myself into and I had no idea I was at risk of traumatizing myself. About 200 pages in (the edition I was reading was 816 pages) the vibes were off, it didn't feel like a "regular" sad book I could enjoy. I ended up on Goodreads reading every review I could and found out about the trigger warnings... I decided to stop reading it. I would say that for a month after this decision to DNF, I found myself drawn to it, I wanted to know what was this terrible, yet I didn't, because my fear was greater than my curiosity...
Today, 8 and a half months later, I found a video on YouTube, where the booktuber was re-reading A Little Life and she vlogged it, giving spoilers and saying everything the story was about, without going into details as the book did. (this is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddGj3JtnbR8)
I'm extremely glad I watched this video because now I know everything that happened in the book without getting traumatized.
So I would say, if you are thinking of reading it despite having heard the whole internet saying it's terrible and they wouldn't recommend it and spoilers aren't a turn-off in a book for you... Watch this very interesting video and see for yourself if you are strong enough to go through these 800 (or 700) pages of pain and sadness.
Today, 8 and a half months later, I found a video on YouTube, where the booktuber was re-reading A Little Life and she vlogged it, giving spoilers and saying everything the story was about, without going into details as the book did. (this is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddGj3JtnbR8)
I'm extremely glad I watched this video because now I know everything that happened in the book without getting traumatized.
So I would say, if you are thinking of reading it despite having heard the whole internet saying it's terrible and they wouldn't recommend it and spoilers aren't a turn-off in a book for you... Watch this very interesting video and see for yourself if you are strong enough to go through these 800 (or 700) pages of pain and sadness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail