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A review by clausbookshelf
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
I Traumatised Myself And You Can Too!
I'll say one thing before letting you jump into this; whatever you do, under no circumstances let yourself relate to any character in this book. You will be emotionally demolished.
Another side note: I have added all the content warnings I remembered that I came across throughout the book, if any of these might present a trigger to you, take my advice and do not read this. It is all described in such horrendously graphic detail that at times I had to put the book down and could not pick it up for the next few days.
That being said, this is one of the most linguistically and psychologically complex books I have ever had the privilege of reading, and I know for a fact that I will think about it forever. Hanya Yanagihara's novel follows four bright ambitious and talented friends living in New York after university and struggling to navigate and find their place in the wider world.
Around 100 pages in, it's clear that the main protagonist of this story is Jude St. Francis, and as the focus on his life intensifies, we begin to understand the extremities and intricacies of his first 15 years of life. This part of the book outlines a decade and a half of mental, psychological, and physical abuse which is by far the most grotesque thing I have ever read in my life.
Despite the fact that more often than not, A Little Life could easily be described as "gratuitously graphic", Yanagihara's novel puts so much soul into the in-depth character analysis of every single person we come across within its 700 pages. By the end we find ourselves empty and hurt because we have spent so long getting to know these intricate and complicated people, and attempting to answer with them a series of life's unanswerable questions.
More than anything I think I loved this book so much because it wasn't based around romance and sex. Of course it was included, after all this is a memoir which follows four men living in New York from age 20 to 60. But the most satisfying thing to me was that solace was rarely found in romantic connections, it was the friendships and their fluidity and complexity which gave this novel it's beautiful intensity.
A Little Life was upsetting, traumatic, and harrowing. But by far the best book I have ever read.
I'll say one thing before letting you jump into this; whatever you do, under no circumstances let yourself relate to any character in this book. You will be emotionally demolished.
Another side note: I have added all the content warnings I remembered that I came across throughout the book, if any of these might present a trigger to you, take my advice and do not read this. It is all described in such horrendously graphic detail that at times I had to put the book down and could not pick it up for the next few days.
That being said, this is one of the most linguistically and psychologically complex books I have ever had the privilege of reading, and I know for a fact that I will think about it forever. Hanya Yanagihara's novel follows four bright ambitious and talented friends living in New York after university and struggling to navigate and find their place in the wider world.
Despite the fact that more often than not, A Little Life could easily be described as "gratuitously graphic", Yanagihara's novel puts so much soul into the in-depth character analysis of every single person we come across within its 700 pages. By the end we find ourselves empty and hurt because we have spent so long getting to know these intricate and complicated people, and attempting to answer with them a series of life's unanswerable questions.
More than anything I think I loved this book so much because it wasn't based around romance and sex. Of course it was included, after all this is a memoir which follows four men living in New York from age 20 to 60. But the most satisfying thing to me was that solace was rarely found in romantic connections, it was the friendships and their fluidity and complexity which gave this novel it's beautiful intensity.
A Little Life was upsetting, traumatic, and harrowing. But by far the best book I have ever read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence