A review by pikachihiro
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

5.0

I'll update this soon, but it took me almost a year to finish this book, however, that's because I had to return it to the library and wait for MONTHS to get it back. I had read up to page 180 in about a week, then I restarted from 153 and finished it within three days. I couldn't stop once I restarted, and in comparison to other books, this is a 5 star and others pale. It's in a league of its own. I was able to talk to my good friend about it (actually the person who inspired me to get it before she had even read it); ironically, i got it because of her, started it before her without knowing anything about it other than her desire to read it and it having an outstanding cover, and then she finished it before me, months later, and i finally got it from the library and finished it about two months after she finished it. So we both experienced it and spoke about its short comings (mostly Jude--her that he's so unlikable and indulgent in his torture, and me in that we never really got to see him in anyone else's eyes to truly learn what he was like as a friend). He's the main character and while we know so much about him, his psyche, and his past, we don't know enough to see what others saw in him outside of himself. I wanted to see more of what he was like during conversations with friends that instilled so much loyalty and love, but I'll add to this in time. I absolutely adored the full circle ending, leaving off with a memory from the beginning, and I felt like Willem was a fully formed version of Harold Crick (Stranger Than Fiction) and would like to know what Dustin Hoffman's character would say about this "little" (did he know) life. Anyway. Superb. I wanna bump every five star down to a four star after reading this.