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A review by gabburrit0
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
6/19/22: will have to revisit. I think I'm just scared of what this book will do to me n so I'm avoiding reading/listening to it so I don't have to experience what a lot of other people have posted about this one.
2/02/24: well, I did it. I read the whole thing. I didn't cry at all which is surprising given the amount of videos I've seen of ppl absolutely sobbing by the end of the book. I did, however, get progressively more angry as the book went on. I think that everyone tunnel visions on the fact that this book is sad (which it is) but I haven't seen a lot of ppl saying that this book is just straight up trauma porn. think of any trigger out there, it's in this book in GRAPHIC detail. think that one bathtub scene from the TV show 13 Reasons Why and times that by 10. but what made me the most angry was that EVERYONE in Jude's life (because this is Jude's story, no one else's) knew he was hurting, knew he was suffering, knew he was hiding something, and didn't try hard enough. I can understand them not wanting to upset Jude as the story goes on but I needed SOMEONE to say "fuck you, Jude. I don't care if you'll hate me, you need a therapist and rehab so badly and I'm going to put you there". and I don't care if that's the whole point of the book; how no one knows how bad a situation is until it's too late, these people had ample chances to figure out that Jude was spiraling ESPECIALLY when JB was going through his traumas. the final verdict is 1/5 stars because I do think it takes a skilled writer for me to care so deeply about the characters they create but this book also didn't care about any of it's characters.
2/02/24: well, I did it. I read the whole thing. I didn't cry at all which is surprising given the amount of videos I've seen of ppl absolutely sobbing by the end of the book. I did, however, get progressively more angry as the book went on. I think that everyone tunnel visions on the fact that this book is sad (which it is) but I haven't seen a lot of ppl saying that this book is just straight up trauma porn. think of any trigger out there, it's in this book in GRAPHIC detail. think that one bathtub scene from the TV show 13 Reasons Why and times that by 10. but what made me the most angry was that EVERYONE in Jude's life (because this is Jude's story, no one else's) knew he was hurting, knew he was suffering, knew he was hiding something, and didn't try hard enough. I can understand them not wanting to upset Jude as the story goes on but I needed SOMEONE to say "fuck you, Jude. I don't care if you'll hate me, you need a therapist and rehab so badly and I'm going to put you there". and I don't care if that's the whole point of the book; how no one knows how bad a situation is until it's too late, these people had ample chances to figure out that Jude was spiraling ESPECIALLY when JB was going through his traumas. the final verdict is 1/5 stars because I do think it takes a skilled writer for me to care so deeply about the characters they create but this book also didn't care about any of it's characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Drug use, Rape, and Pedophilia