A review by mtmarriott
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
I read this after seeing the National Theatre Live showing of the play adaptation with James Norton. The play I found undeniably powerful but ultimately too much for one sitting and I didn’t know if the harrowing events quite justified the means. While I think it would be hard to adapt this to the screen I think a miniseries would be the perfect avenue: both because of the length of the story and because it allows for the horror of what happens to Jude to be spread out over several instalments instead of in one traumatising go. The Dr. Traylor subplot and Willem’s death I find tip the tragedy of the story into misery porn (Jude has to be the most unfortunate character in all of literature?) but the rest of the novel I find perfectly believable in its abusive horror. Yanagihara is also a really wonderful writer and she captures the intangible logic behind self-loathing so well as well as the heartbreak one can feel when a friend or family member struggles to love themselves. I’d really love to read other viewpoints since it’s become such a divisive novel but I for one have found it deeply sorrowful and rewarding in equal measure.
I read this after seeing the National Theatre Live showing of the play adaptation with James Norton. The play I found undeniably powerful but ultimately too much for one sitting and I didn’t know if the harrowing events quite justified the means. While I think it would be hard to adapt this to the screen I think a miniseries would be the perfect avenue: both because of the length of the story and because it allows for the horror of what happens to Jude to be spread out over several instalments instead of in one traumatising go. The Dr. Traylor subplot and Willem’s death I find tip the tragedy of the story into misery porn (Jude has to be the most unfortunate character in all of literature?) but the rest of the novel I find perfectly believable in its abusive horror. Yanagihara is also a really wonderful writer and she captures the intangible logic behind self-loathing so well as well as the heartbreak one can feel when a friend or family member struggles to love themselves. I’d really love to read other viewpoints since it’s become such a divisive novel but I for one have found it deeply sorrowful and rewarding in equal measure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt