A review by madisone
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This is by far the saddest book I have ever read in my entire life. I full on sobbed 9 times throughout this entire book which doesn’t seem like a lot, but take into consideration that these bawling sessions were at least 15 minutes long each. This is the hardest book that I will likely ever read and it’s not because of the fact that it’s over 800 pages long. I loved this book so incredibly much, but from the deepest places within me, I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anybody at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Lesbophobia