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karkei's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I can hardly conceive that life can be so harsh to one person. My heart goes out to Jude. He’s a character that you constantly want to protect. How privileged we are that most of us may never truly understand the full depths of what Jude has gone through.
I will not pretend to be an angel though. There were many points that I got frustrated at Jude, like “Can’t you see how you are hurting the people you love? Can’t you see how much they are doing for you?” But then, I come back to myself and I feel guilty - I’m no better than JB, all self centered and discounting Jude in his entirety. Or maybe worse, because JB doesn’t actually know what happened to Jude and I do 🥲
I like to think that just with the people who love him though, loving someone is taking all of them. I love Jude and I care for him and hence, I wanted him to see himself as worthy and I wanted him to survive and be happy.
What I originally thought was a story about Jude, however, ends up being a story about Willem. And where do I start with this?
Willem, you are the most patient, kind, loving character.
To Harold and Andy, you also have a special place in my heart.
A Little Life was a book I was scared to pick up because all I heard about it was that it was highly traumatic. While there was trauma, however, this book went way beyond that for me. It is a reminder of how unforgiving but beautiful life can be and how fortunate we should all be for our little lives ❤️
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Child death, and Grief
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Car accident
mochiwaffles's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
lisamayradb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
cerysvy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
captdummy's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
mollymccreedy's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
This book should not be recommended lightly and people should absolutely be informed of what they're getting into before reading it.
At the time, I thought this was the best novel I had ever read, and I have a deep love and appreciation for that view, but the more I sit with this book and listen to what others have to say, I understand and appreciate how deeply troubling and harmful this book is. I was sobbing every 20 pages (no lie) and it took me MONTHS to get though this. It broke me in so many ways and it took me a long time to pick up another book after finishing this one.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
I would absolutely not recommend this book to just anyone. Heck, I wouldn't recommend it to 99% of the people I know. I read this book not realizing what it was about and what the author has said about talk therapy. The description of this book is horribly misleading and the more I sit with the knowledge of what I read, the more I realize how deeply upsetting and deeply problematic this book is.mrgrdsnts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Grief
selimhannah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
annkristin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Personally, i do not consider this story to be trauma-dumbing for shock value since every traumatic incident is somehow connected to Jude. Jude, a person of colour, queer, disabled and in the system of child service. He is in every way imaginable underpriviliged and we have to acknowledge those in our society, who are also intersectionally marginalised. Those who have been, like Jude, led down over and over again by the system we live in as well as the people in it. People with some kind of similiar experiences exist in real life.
Also, i was positively suprised by the beautiful and touching passages in the book. From everything i heard about this story i expected every single page to be sad. But just as life itself it also contains beautiful, human moments filled with so much hope and love.
In general Yanagiharas writing is absolutley exceptional. She made these characters so incredibly real. It is crazy how much so. Everything she writes makes you as a reader feel so much.
This talent in writing also led to so many intersting explorations on diferent themes. Throughout this book i kept on being intrigued by thought provoking ideas she frequently touched on.
However, i still have huge points of critic. For one, the authors take that therapy is useless. It is only obscured and underlying but at the same time such a giant and problematic opinion to express (even if only subliminal). I strongly diagree and believe it is extremely dangerous. What messages does it send to survivors?! What does this ending tell people who do actually struggle with mental health issues? It only spreads helplessness and devastation.
Also, what the fuck is up with the way she depicts gay men?! According to how Yanagiharas portrayal you would have to assume that every gay men is a pedophile or deeply mentally sick. That is such a horrible way to write about a already stigmatised group of people. Especially since she herself is straight and female.
Furthermore, i have to admit that being in Judes perspective so much is draining to say the least. I started to take over some aspects of thinking: Self-destructive, self-hating and deeply scarred. It actually really impacted my own mental health at times.
Overall, there is not a singluar or right way to think about this very complex book. I personally find my self thinking back and actually rereading so many passages of this book over and over again. Still i would not really recommend this book to anyone knowing what it could/would trigger.
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Vomit
brittastrophee's review against another edition
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail