A review by sgrizzle
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

“No,” Willem said, after they’d all stopped laughing. “I know my life’s meaningful because”—and here he stopped, and looked shy, and was silent for a moment before he continued—“ because I’m a good friend. I love my friends, and I care about them, and I think I make them happy.”

Well I am sitting in my car crying just having finished this book lol. 2024 is the year I read the sad books, and this was definitely sad. I generally love a deep, contemplative dive into characters, so that part I did enjoy, but this one was truly bleak. It is an excellent look into how violent trauma in childhood affects the rest of a person’s life, and I liked the writing style. The characterizations are vivid, which makes sense considering how many pages and how much of their life we follow. But wow I am glad to be done with it.

I think a book that has similar themes of deep platonic friendship and the effects of trauma but is not bleak and even has some fun is Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, I’d recommend it over this one. 
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