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A review by lrooks98
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I had high hopes for this book after hearing so much praise for it, and I started out thinking, Ok, it's slow but the prose is something to acknowledge. And then by the time we get to the car crash, I knew what was going to happen, because only the most horrible option is available in this book.
By the end, it was monotonous trauma porn. I was begging to let go too.
I understand wanting to write about abuse victims and give light to disabled characters, but this was done in a way that delighted in their misfortune, and I really found it to be grotesque within the last two hours of the audiobook. It's also massively long, which I think is poor craftmanship on the author's part. There's being wordy, and there's being repetitive, and the author is the latter--four sentences saying the same thing before we could move on to a slightly different thought.
If this book had been half as long and less reveling in sorrow, I think it would be worthy of the praise it's gotten. As is, I could never recommend it to anyone.
By the end, it was monotonous trauma porn. I was begging to let go too.
I understand wanting to write about abuse victims and give light to disabled characters, but this was done in a way that delighted in their misfortune, and I really found it to be grotesque within the last two hours of the audiobook. It's also massively long, which I think is poor craftmanship on the author's part. There's being wordy, and there's being repetitive, and the author is the latter--four sentences saying the same thing before we could move on to a slightly different thought.
If this book had been half as long and less reveling in sorrow, I think it would be worthy of the praise it's gotten. As is, I could never recommend it to anyone.