A review by jadenlmhaynes
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

This is a good book, really beautifully written and with some loveable characters. But, it definitely does not need to be this long. Some passages are so drawn out, it seems only to hit a particular word count, at times. Also, as many people rightly say, this book covers just about every trigger warning I can think of. But the combination of horrific scenes and drawn out passages makes trauma almost sensationalised in this book. Similarly to hitting a word count, it is as if Hanya Yanagihara was trying to hit every possible traumatic incident possible, for some kind of sensationalism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Rape, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Dementia, Homophobia, and Pedophilia