A review by l_b_buder
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

3.5

The prose is masterful and you will fall in love with characters. Yanagihara does not shy away from difficult trauma or coping skills that are varying degrees of successful. This is the most upsetting book you may ever read in your life. Warrants just about every trigger warning you can think of. Goes too far at times in my opinion, while at other times touching on difficult realities that lots of people and authors ignore too often. Pick this book up if you have a strong stomach and are looking for a hard hitting literary experience. Don't pick it up if you're looking for queer romance or feel good found family.

There are aspects of Jude and Willem's relationship in later chapters that I think served only to make the book more upsetting to read and therefore was presumably added for shock value, without necessarily adding anything to the narrative. Though, that same argument can be used for half of the content in the book. If we're operating under the assumption that the value in the book is that it demonstrates that lots of lives don't start or end with happiness, sure. But after so many pages of absolutely harrowing tragedy, the ending felt nothing but horrible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

If you don't like to be upset in any severe way by what you read, don't read this book. Everybody I know who has read it, myself included, cried in a bad way and/or had a panic attack. And don't go in expecting a happy ending.