gabigw 's review for:

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

3.0

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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For me this book crossed the line from a beautiful, dark book to an almost exploitative exercise in extremism. While the prose is beautiful and I cared deeply about the characters, I wondered many times about the motivation of the author. Did she want to shed light on the trauma and injustice some people are forced to endure? Or did she want to make a spectacle of trauma and of queer relationships to create a book that would get people talking? Not talking about the issues, but about the book; and about her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism