A review by pineconek
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

5.0

This book isn't realistic at all and that's the main criticism it receives - rules around time, money, legality, luck all seem completely arbitrary and follow fairytale logic. I'm personally ok with that when it's used as a device to explore complex human experiences, which I think this book accomplishes really well. An excellent exploration of how abuse leads to self-loathing, of how abuse compounds with each instance, and the struggle of finding joy and purpose after so much interpersonal violence and hardship. Reading this book hurt a lot and I'm not sure if I'd read it again but I absolutely loved it.