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A review by booktribes
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Have u ever been attached to a character
so much that it keeps you up at night thinking about
them?
TW: Heavy spoilers, SAI child abuse, self-harm
What happened to Jude was unforgettable. It was
almost as if Hanya Yanagihara picked a bunch of
triggers and thought "what cruel things should i do to
this child?' from child abandonment to abuse to
sexual assault to all of the things readers could not
imagine happening to their own loved ones.
Jude is that kind of friend that i want to help, the kind
that i want to save but everytime i do help, somehow i
feel he is falling helplessly. On the earlier chapters,
Jude had accidentally broke Harold's mug that his
late dying son made for him. He wrote a letter of
apology (just for a mug) to Harold eventhough it was
told unnecessary. This is my apology letter to Jude.
Dear Jude,
I am sorry that society has failed you. I am sorry for
the things that has happened to you, that made you
think you deserved it. I am sorry for the childhood you
did not get to experience. You are so much more in
life anyone could bring. Harold has asked you what
are the 5 things that you are better in. To me, you are
brilliant, you went to law school, you are an excellent
litigator and lawyer. You are a brave and kind hearted
man. You cook and clean well. You help others
around you, you are a good friend. When you love, you
love so deeply. Some of the things that you said to
yourself is not true. You don't owe anyone anything.
You always felt the need to apologize when we
should be the one apologizing to you. Throughout all
that, i am glad you have met people who loved you for
you. To Willem, JB, Malcolm, Harold, Julia, Citizen,
Rhodes, the Henry Youngs and the others. You
always said the axiom of equality is x equals to x
meaning that no matter how improved your life has
been, you will always be that same person (the
person that is disgusting and deserved the hate and
pain). I wished you could view yourself as a survivor.
The things you have achieved defines you rather than
the cruel things people has done to you.
Nevertheless, I still view you as a survivor.
When i finished reading, i realized
Hanya Yanagihara is just portraying
apart of reality for the unfortunate
ones. These are things that truly
happen everyday of our lives and there
are cases to prove it.
There is a lot of intense debate about
whatever trauma or events that
happened was helpful or harming to
people with mental health issues and
people suffering from traumas. The
book in itself was a depiction of Jude's
intrusive feelings. I can see that this
book is powerful, how words formed
can be a harm to someone. I would not
recommend this to anyone reading this
just bc Jude's thoughts alone made me
play with my own mental health.
I cried reading 3 times. First when he
was apologizing for the mug, second
for being adopted and third for Willem.
so much that it keeps you up at night thinking about
them?
TW: Heavy spoilers, SAI child abuse, self-harm
What happened to Jude was unforgettable. It was
almost as if Hanya Yanagihara picked a bunch of
triggers and thought "what cruel things should i do to
this child?' from child abandonment to abuse to
sexual assault to all of the things readers could not
imagine happening to their own loved ones.
Jude is that kind of friend that i want to help, the kind
that i want to save but everytime i do help, somehow i
feel he is falling helplessly. On the earlier chapters,
Jude had accidentally broke Harold's mug that his
late dying son made for him. He wrote a letter of
apology (just for a mug) to Harold eventhough it was
told unnecessary. This is my apology letter to Jude.
Dear Jude,
I am sorry that society has failed you. I am sorry for
the things that has happened to you, that made you
think you deserved it. I am sorry for the childhood you
did not get to experience. You are so much more in
life anyone could bring. Harold has asked you what
are the 5 things that you are better in. To me, you are
brilliant, you went to law school, you are an excellent
litigator and lawyer. You are a brave and kind hearted
man. You cook and clean well. You help others
around you, you are a good friend. When you love, you
love so deeply. Some of the things that you said to
yourself is not true. You don't owe anyone anything.
You always felt the need to apologize when we
should be the one apologizing to you. Throughout all
that, i am glad you have met people who loved you for
you. To Willem, JB, Malcolm, Harold, Julia, Citizen,
Rhodes, the Henry Youngs and the others. You
always said the axiom of equality is x equals to x
meaning that no matter how improved your life has
been, you will always be that same person (the
person that is disgusting and deserved the hate and
pain). I wished you could view yourself as a survivor.
The things you have achieved defines you rather than
the cruel things people has done to you.
Nevertheless, I still view you as a survivor.
When i finished reading, i realized
Hanya Yanagihara is just portraying
apart of reality for the unfortunate
ones. These are things that truly
happen everyday of our lives and there
are cases to prove it.
There is a lot of intense debate about
whatever trauma or events that
happened was helpful or harming to
people with mental health issues and
people suffering from traumas. The
book in itself was a depiction of Jude's
intrusive feelings. I can see that this
book is powerful, how words formed
can be a harm to someone. I would not
recommend this to anyone reading this
just bc Jude's thoughts alone made me
play with my own mental health.
I cried reading 3 times. First when he
was apologizing for the mug, second
for being adopted and third for Willem.