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A review by alisha247
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
2.0
i’m glad i’m done with this book. it took me forever to finish.
firstly, i appreciate that this book is well-loved. it is very emotional and gut-wrenching, with some beautiful prose. and it did make me cry at some moments, which is rare for me to do whilst reading.
however, there is so much that i disliked.
it’s pitched as a book about four friends, but in reality, malcolm and JB are simply side characters that are not very well explored, with minimal character growth. it made it difficult to understand why they are all friends, considering malcolm and JB are not exactly portrayed in the best light, and as you have no detail on how they even became so close.
furthermore, the book is beyond repetitive and could’ve easily been 200 pages shorter. there were passages that were genuinely boring and did not add anything to the story. the book seems to just be full of people repeating “i’m sorry” to each other on every page. especially jude! it’s pretty much all he said!
i’m not the only person to comment on the trauma porn nature of this book, but wow. a lot of it suspends belief. i can’t recommend this to anyone as the context is beyond disturbing and is extremely triggering, and is absolutely relentless. awful things are constantly happening to jude. there are obvious criticisms as to why yanagihara wrote a book about gay and disabled characters without doing proper research.
firstly, i appreciate that this book is well-loved. it is very emotional and gut-wrenching, with some beautiful prose. and it did make me cry at some moments, which is rare for me to do whilst reading.
however, there is so much that i disliked.
it’s pitched as a book about four friends, but in reality, malcolm and JB are simply side characters that are not very well explored, with minimal character growth. it made it difficult to understand why they are all friends, considering malcolm and JB are not exactly portrayed in the best light, and as you have no detail on how they even became so close.
furthermore, the book is beyond repetitive and could’ve easily been 200 pages shorter. there were passages that were genuinely boring and did not add anything to the story. the book seems to just be full of people repeating “i’m sorry” to each other on every page. especially jude! it’s pretty much all he said!
i’m not the only person to comment on the trauma porn nature of this book, but wow. a lot of it suspends belief. i can’t recommend this to anyone as the context is beyond disturbing and is extremely triggering, and is absolutely relentless. awful things are constantly happening to jude. there are obvious criticisms as to why yanagihara wrote a book about gay and disabled characters without doing proper research.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief