Scan barcode
A review by kait51db
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-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? Yes
4.0
i actually hate this book. it's well written (not for everyone, but the writing style is perfect for me), i adore the characters, yet it is torture porn i will not recommend to anyone without stacks and stacks of warnings. i do not believe it is a pain worth experiencing because you have to experience this story. that being said—it is an experience. the reason it is not five stars is because there are many scenes that simply did not need to exist in the detail they existed in to tell the story, and i believe they are they for shock value. it was unnecessary. the author is clearly capable of creating a fleshed out, beautiful world with characters you will love and tell a story that can mean so much to so many, and the reliance on the details of traumatic, horrible events is so irrelevant. it is the book's singular flaw.
believe it or not, i have compliments! like i said, the writing style is my personal favorite—a little tedious, a little pretentious, but so stream-of-thought and beautiful that it's worth sitting with the long sentences and paragraphs. i loved the characters dearly. the heart-wrenching experience of the day-to-day struggle of managing mental illness and trauma that can never truly be healed was depicted brutally but honestly. it is not something i regret reading, or something i will say no one should read, but it is something worth ruminating on if reading it is worth it. talk to people who have read it, find the warnings (and not just a "trigger warning for everything" because that is useless and the specifics matter!), and really assess if the emotional destress if something you can manage for the benefit of loving a book. this is a book i learned from, but not a book required to learn.
believe it or not, i have compliments! like i said, the writing style is my personal favorite—a little tedious, a little pretentious, but so stream-of-thought and beautiful that it's worth sitting with the long sentences and paragraphs. i loved the characters dearly. the heart-wrenching experience of the day-to-day struggle of managing mental illness and trauma that can never truly be healed was depicted brutally but honestly. it is not something i regret reading, or something i will say no one should read, but it is something worth ruminating on if reading it is worth it. talk to people who have read it, find the warnings (and not just a "trigger warning for everything" because that is useless and the specifics matter!), and really assess if the emotional destress if something you can manage for the benefit of loving a book. this is a book i learned from, but not a book required to learn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Child death, Sexual assault, Cursing, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Drug use, Addiction, Car accident, and Drug abuse
Minor: Death of parent
incredibly brutal depictions of assault, sexual and physical.