A review by cstein
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

A Little Life was difficult to put down, difficult to dream about, difficult not to dwell on for hours in the middle of the night. Yanagihara's respectful, relatively sparse depictions of a laundry list of traumas made this book tolerable, while her depictions of human goodness and joy made this book hopeful and beautiful. Particularly impressive were the author's careful detailing of fictional artworks, fictional movies, fictional law cases, fictional renovations, etc. An engrossing and extraordinary feat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, and Alcohol