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A review by adelphiereads
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
5.0
There are two things I had to do in order to get through this book:
1. Read a light, feel-good book, Little Women (ironic I know, since the ending is also a bit tragic) while reading it.
2. Eat lots of chocolates while/after reading it.
And despite these pro tips, it still took me a month to finish it.
The emotional damage this book left me is so tangible, unpliable and ceaseless; that is coming from someone who loves tragedy in novels. The title suits it perfectly. In this book, you are taken on a journey in life, the reality of it, no sugar-coating. I think the reason why this book is beloved by many, including me, is that the tragedy that it tackled is life itself. As difficult it is to admit, life itself is the biggest tragedy in this world, no amount of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers can defeat it. And that despite the tragedy of life there are moments that could last for minutes or hours or days or weeks or, if lucky, years of happiness, of peace, or, sometimes, mere absence of tragedy and yet that was enough. But at the end of it all, life happens again and it'll be up to you if you would stay for those fleeting moments of the past or the possible happy moments in the future, unsure how long it would last this time.
I think that's the beauty of this book. The author beautifully and explicitly wrote the banality, the adversity, the delight and inevitability of life. The mere fact that this destroyed the hearts of the many shows how life is the biggest tragedy in this world.
Also, once you have read this, I know you would be asking questions how real it was, how Jude's experience is similar to real life. And unfortunately, Jude's traumatic childhood is stories of many children all over the world. I'll put links on articles about it and even hotlines on where to report if you've noticed some signs of abuse on a child.
Articles/Websites about crimes against children:
https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Crimes-against-children
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-children
https://www.rainn.org/articles/child-sexual-abuse
https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/sexual-abuse
https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/can/
https://www.rainn.org/articles/warning-signs-young-children
https://www.stopitnow.org/ohc-content/warning-signs-possible-abuse
Hotlines to contact:
https://www.childwelfare.gov/organizations/?CWIGFunctionsaction=rols:main.dspList&rolType=custom&rs_id=5
https://thinkchildsafe.org/report/
If you've noticed signs of abuse on children, no matter how subtle, please make that phone call. It's only a phone call but it can save lives.
1. Read a light, feel-good book, Little Women (ironic I know, since the ending is also a bit tragic) while reading it.
2. Eat lots of chocolates while/after reading it.
And despite these pro tips, it still took me a month to finish it.
The emotional damage this book left me is so tangible, unpliable and ceaseless; that is coming from someone who loves tragedy in novels. The title suits it perfectly. In this book, you are taken on a journey in life, the reality of it, no sugar-coating. I think the reason why this book is beloved by many, including me, is that the tragedy that it tackled is life itself. As difficult it is to admit, life itself is the biggest tragedy in this world, no amount of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers can defeat it. And that despite the tragedy of life there are moments that could last for minutes or hours or days or weeks or, if lucky, years of happiness, of peace, or, sometimes, mere absence of tragedy and yet that was enough. But at the end of it all, life happens again and it'll be up to you if you would stay for those fleeting moments of the past or the possible happy moments in the future, unsure how long it would last this time.
I think that's the beauty of this book. The author beautifully and explicitly wrote the banality, the adversity, the delight and inevitability of life. The mere fact that this destroyed the hearts of the many shows how life is the biggest tragedy in this world.
Also, once you have read this, I know you would be asking questions how real it was, how Jude's experience is similar to real life. And unfortunately, Jude's traumatic childhood is stories of many children all over the world. I'll put links on articles about it and even hotlines on where to report if you've noticed some signs of abuse on a child.
Articles/Websites about crimes against children:
https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Crimes-against-children
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-children
https://www.rainn.org/articles/child-sexual-abuse
https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/sexual-abuse
https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/can/
https://www.rainn.org/articles/warning-signs-young-children
https://www.stopitnow.org/ohc-content/warning-signs-possible-abuse
Hotlines to contact:
https://www.childwelfare.gov/organizations/?CWIGFunctionsaction=rols:main.dspList&rolType=custom&rs_id=5
https://thinkchildsafe.org/report/
If you've noticed signs of abuse on children, no matter how subtle, please make that phone call. It's only a phone call but it can save lives.