susan2424 's review for:

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

4.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book was extremely well written but also highly distressing to read. I recommend checking the trigger warnings before starting to read this. I put off reading it for a long time because I had heard about how sad it is. The novel is very long and detailed. The narrative jumps back and forward in time. The characters were created in such exquisite detail. The hope, love, and kindness with which the various friends supported the protagonist throughout his life was expressed so beautifully. However the novel is highly distressing throughout and it has left me feeling exhausted. I don’t think I will ever forget it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail