A review by gabigw
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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