A review by rayinbooks
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Never read anything like this in my 24 years of existence. This is perhaps the only book which made me physically get up from my seat and take deep breaths before I could actually grasp the contents of the pages I had just read. Even though it moved me, I would probably not recommend it to anyone I know, considering how traumatic it gets as the book traverses.
That being said, if I could muster the strength to read it all over again, I would.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Grief, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Addiction, Stalking, Torture, Drug abuse, Excrement, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Toxic relationship