A Little Life

A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara Modern & Contemporary fiction, Triggers and Self-Harm

736 pages 5/5 stars

Synopsis: When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity.

Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.

***

* TRIGGER WARNINGS! * THIS BOOK INCLUDES A VERY UPSETTING AND GRAPHIC NATURE. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING WITH AN EMOTIONAL / MENTAL MINDSET.

A Little Life is a modern-day classic that is dark and disturbing. At the start of this book, I did find it a little slow. However, due to hearing some amazing things about this novel, I stuck with it. Around 100 pages in, I was hooked! From there, I became emotionally attached to the main character, Jude. The plot is conveyed through flashbacks and past narrative, where we find answers into Jude's distressing life. Even though this story is heartbreaking and raw, it also portrays a refreshing take on friendship within a world of anxiety. Friendship is the main factor that depicts this book so beautifully. The characters friendship represent a type of love that everyone would love to have in their life. The way Willem cares for Jude throughout this book is beautiful, it gave me great comfort in knowing that though everything Jude has gone through, I was so happy to know someone genuinely cared.

My main question within this story is "How can one person endure such pain?" The way Yanagihara describes such abuse throughout is extremely powerful yet depressing and at times, hard to read. There were moments where I had to put the book down and have a little break. I praise Yanagihara to write about such taboo subjects in a way that goes further than any reader anticipates! One thing I have taken away from this book, is to always be kind. You never know what hurt, pain or sadness someone else is going through.

Brace yourself! It is one hell of a ride!