A Little Life

A Little Life By Hanya Yanagihara

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cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity.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.

The Review

This book made me realize the inequality of the human experience and it helped me to stop loitering my own trauma.

A gift that goes beyond a five-star reading experience.

At the beginning of this book, I was prepared. I had my tissue box ready. I slated two hours every morning for two weeks to read before anyone else in the house is up. I could cry, uninterrupted, and live in Yanagihara’s world.

What I did not realize is how truly unrelenting it is. By the end, you feel like a troll for knowing such intimate things about people. They surely aren’t fictional characters but are strangers I’ve passed on the street.

The characters feel THAT real. Their experiences feel authentic. During the two weeks, I experienced interesting things while reading.

I felt angry at times and recklessly open at others. I was in awe of Yanagihara’s talent and wanted to pick it apart, simultaneously.

I wanted to point out the flaws and rest in them. I was finally able to admit that although it’s not perfect it is perfectly fallible and one of the best books I’ve ever read.

I’ve already gifted it twice!

Do yourself the favor of reading A LITTLE LIFE and experiencing what so many others have already. What a book!

Wish me luck trying to find a book pairing…