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posey_norgaard 's review for:
A Little Life
by Hanya Yanagihara
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Heart wrenching tragic and painfully sad, this book is very hard to read at times. However, It is written in a way that makes you invested in the characters relationship to each other and you genuinely feel like they’re palpable people, it never feels forced in that way. It gives beautiful descriptions of everyday interactions and makes you appreciate, and feel for the found family it depicts. The times that made me emotional in this book was the love and care that these people show for each other.
You get submerged into these characters world view, and understand their decision, even when you were in opposition to them. I felt like you could tell who’s head you were in when the POV changed. I also found the life analogies to stay with me after closing the book.
It contains a lot of horrific and graphic trauma, and I would highly recommend to read trigger warnings before going into this book. I don’t think it romanticizes the trauma and it’s denseness to me, shows the thought that went into this book. It is not a book written for entertainment. I believe it is meant to convey the importance of human connection, through immense trauma, and how they shape us as humans, for better and for worse.
For being such a long book, I never found it to drag, it flowed very easily. The usage of language in this book is what really stood out to me and that is probably what I like the most. There were parts that I didn’t enjoy that are mostly all spoilers, and some of the ways that the book is building, felt a tad too much like trying to inflict as much pain as it could muster, where I would maybe have liked some more character arch instead.
You get submerged into these characters world view, and understand their decision, even when you were in opposition to them. I felt like you could tell who’s head you were in when the POV changed. I also found the life analogies to stay with me after closing the book.
It contains a lot of horrific and graphic trauma, and I would highly recommend to read trigger warnings before going into this book. I don’t think it romanticizes the trauma and it’s denseness to me, shows the thought that went into this book. It is not a book written for entertainment. I believe it is meant to convey the importance of human connection, through immense trauma, and how they shape us as humans, for better and for worse.
For being such a long book, I never found it to drag, it flowed very easily. The usage of language in this book is what really stood out to me and that is probably what I like the most. There were parts that I didn’t enjoy that are mostly all spoilers, and some of the ways that the book is building, felt a tad too much like trying to inflict as much pain as it could muster, where I would maybe have liked some more character arch instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail