A review by thetrickyfox
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

3.75

This is an averaging out review / rating. There are parts of this book that make it a masterpiece; parts of the prose, the depth given to the characterisations of the main cast, some of the inner monologues on specific struggles that almost make you want to print them out and present them to people as explanations. There are other parts of this book that make it deeply uncomfortable, but not necessarily in a meaningful way. At points, as has been said by many others before, it just feels like a fetishisation of suffering and a catalogue of graphic horrors. These sections along with the final act drag and feel needlessly detailed in ways the rest of the story doesn't. Some may think it adds positively to the book overall, but I'm not one of them. I'm not sure it's possible to write a complete list of content warnings for it either.