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literaryjunarin 's review for:
A Little Life
by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
And so, I read this because of FOMO and I'm finally done!
I didn't like it. Yes, it is gorgeously written, the rawest and most honest emotions I've ever read, the characters will stay with you and the story is gripping, but, it is also boring a lot of times, overly brutal, and hopeless.
There's no sense of time passing. I'm shocked when a character mentioned that it is already Willem's 43rd birthday and I'll be like, "Oh you're 43 already?". I don't know if that was the intention but anyway.
I understood why others called this book "Torture Porn" because it really is torture. I also felt manipulated like the author is shouting to me, "Okay reader! Now cry!". Halfway through The Happy Years, I already felt so much pain I got numb. Someone died and I felt nothing. Where is the silver lining?
At some point, I started imagining what the author looked like while writing this book. Is she smiling? Is she crying on this part? Or she just had a poker face and typed through it all.
When Jude was at his worst, I wondered what his friends loved about him anyway. That sounds harsh but the book did not mention any event or experience when the 4 of them became the best of friends (or I already forgot about it because this book is MASSIVE).
Yes, this is a piece of art, but I'll never recommend it to others.
I didn't like it. Yes, it is gorgeously written, the rawest and most honest emotions I've ever read, the characters will stay with you and the story is gripping, but, it is also boring a lot of times, overly brutal, and hopeless.
There's no sense of time passing. I'm shocked when a character mentioned that it is already Willem's 43rd birthday and I'll be like, "Oh you're 43 already?". I don't know if that was the intention but anyway.
I understood why others called this book "Torture Porn" because it really is torture. I also felt manipulated like the author is shouting to me, "Okay reader! Now cry!". Halfway through The Happy Years, I already felt so much pain I got numb. Someone died and I felt nothing. Where is the silver lining?
At some point, I started imagining what the author looked like while writing this book. Is she smiling? Is she crying on this part? Or she just had a poker face and typed through it all.
When Jude was at his worst, I wondered what his friends loved about him anyway. That sounds harsh but the book did not mention any event or experience when the 4 of them became the best of friends (or I already forgot about it because this book is MASSIVE).
Yes, this is a piece of art, but I'll never recommend it to others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail