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A review by etrnyl
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
5.0
5/5 stars. OH MY GOSH. I. CRIED. SO. MANY. TIMES. THROUGHOUT. THIS. BOOK.
Synopsis/Plot: When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity.
Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever. (Goodreads synopsis)
Characters: Jude and Willem are the two main characters, while JB, Malcolm, Richard, Harold, Julia etc, are the side characters. Jude is in the law career, while Willem is an actor.
Jude: Judes character is an interesting one. He was depicted in the first part of the book, Lispenard Street, as a loner and sort of a freak. He was not the central character. Once you get to the second part of the book, The Postman, it is clear that Jude is the main character and that this is his journey.
Setting: Although A Little Life is set in New York City, it is never stated what time period it is set in, making it an “eternal present day.” The characters had moved from Massachusetts to New York City after college. Willem and Jude had started out as living on Lispenard Street, and go on to live on Greene Street. Throughout this whole novel every character moves multiple times. JB, Malcolm, Richard, and other side characters do not all live in the same part of New York, while Willem and Jude mostly stay together throughout the majority of the book.
Favorite Quote from A Little Life: “You won’t understand what I mean now, but someday you will: the only trick of friendship, I think, is to find people who are better than you are—not smarter, not cooler, but kinder, and more generous, and more forgiving—and then to appreciate them for what they can teach you, and to try to listen to them when they tell you something about yourself, no matter how bad—or good—it might be, and to trust them, which is the hardest thing of all. But the best, as well.”
My Thoughts: I cannot even explain how deeply this book affected me. My eyes were so dry by the time I finished this that I couldn’t stop itching them. If you are going into this book thinking that it’s just about a group of four friends, then you are UTTERLY wrong. It is so so much more than that. The writing is beautiful and descriptive, but it does not hold your hand and tell you exactly what it is trying to say, although it is very blunt in the best way. I recommend this more than I’ve recommended a book in such a long time. The first 15% or so of the book reminded me a lot of If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio. This is because it follows a group of friends and their lives. It is NOTHING like If We Were Villains though. Despite what the first 15% of the book was like, it ended up being something completely different.
Synopsis/Plot: When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity.
Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever. (Goodreads synopsis)
Characters: Jude and Willem are the two main characters, while JB, Malcolm, Richard, Harold, Julia etc, are the side characters. Jude is in the law career, while Willem is an actor.
Jude: Judes character is an interesting one. He was depicted in the first part of the book, Lispenard Street, as a loner and sort of a freak. He was not the central character. Once you get to the second part of the book, The Postman, it is clear that Jude is the main character and that this is his journey.
Setting: Although A Little Life is set in New York City, it is never stated what time period it is set in, making it an “eternal present day.” The characters had moved from Massachusetts to New York City after college. Willem and Jude had started out as living on Lispenard Street, and go on to live on Greene Street. Throughout this whole novel every character moves multiple times. JB, Malcolm, Richard, and other side characters do not all live in the same part of New York, while Willem and Jude mostly stay together throughout the majority of the book.
Favorite Quote from A Little Life: “You won’t understand what I mean now, but someday you will: the only trick of friendship, I think, is to find people who are better than you are—not smarter, not cooler, but kinder, and more generous, and more forgiving—and then to appreciate them for what they can teach you, and to try to listen to them when they tell you something about yourself, no matter how bad—or good—it might be, and to trust them, which is the hardest thing of all. But the best, as well.”
My Thoughts: I cannot even explain how deeply this book affected me. My eyes were so dry by the time I finished this that I couldn’t stop itching them. If you are going into this book thinking that it’s just about a group of four friends, then you are UTTERLY wrong. It is so so much more than that. The writing is beautiful and descriptive, but it does not hold your hand and tell you exactly what it is trying to say, although it is very blunt in the best way. I recommend this more than I’ve recommended a book in such a long time. The first 15% or so of the book reminded me a lot of If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio. This is because it follows a group of friends and their lives. It is NOTHING like If We Were Villains though. Despite what the first 15% of the book was like, it ended up being something completely different.