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

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