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A Little Life

A Little Life

  • Downloads：4542
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-28 12:18:59
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Hanya Yanagihara
  • ISBN：1447294831
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Summary

Brace yourself for the most astonishing， challenging， upsetting， and profoundly moving book in many a season。 An epic about love and friendship in the twenty-first century that goes into some of the darkest places fiction has ever traveled and yet somehow improbably breaks through into the light。 Truly an amazement—and a great gift for its readers。

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cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm， a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn， brilliant， enigmatic Jude， who serves as their center of gravity。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

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Reviews

Devin ，

Couldn’t put it down or stop thinking about it。 Really gripping， but heartbreaking。

Himel Rahman ，

I don't think I'm ever going to be able to describe how I'm feeling right now。A Little Life শেষ করলাম।এক সপ্তাহ， দুই সপ্তাহ， কিংবা তিন সপ্তাহ পর আমি আবারও নতুন কোনো বই ধরবো। আবারও বুঁদ হবো নতুন কোনো গল্পে। যদিও এই মুহূর্তে শুধু একটা কাজই করতে ইচ্ছা করছে; বই পড়া চিরতরে বন্ধ করে দিতে বা একান্ত প্রয়োজনে এই বইটাই বারবার পড়ে জীবনের বাকি সময়টায় বই পড়ার শখ মিটিয়ে যেতে।নিজের মাত্রাতিরিক্ত আবেগ সম্পর্কে ভালোই ধারণা আছে। অন্যের মুখ থেকে শুনতে খারাপ লাগলেও চাইলেই আমি এটা থেকে বের হতে পারবো না। তাতে I don't think I'm ever going to be able to describe how I'm feeling right now。A Little Life শেষ করলাম।এক সপ্তাহ， দুই সপ্তাহ， কিংবা তিন সপ্তাহ পর আমি আবারও নতুন কোনো বই ধরবো। আবারও বুঁদ হবো নতুন কোনো গল্পে। যদিও এই মুহূর্তে শুধু একটা কাজই করতে ইচ্ছা করছে; বই পড়া চিরতরে বন্ধ করে দিতে বা একান্ত প্রয়োজনে এই বইটাই বারবার পড়ে জীবনের বাকি সময়টায় বই পড়ার শখ মিটিয়ে যেতে।নিজের মাত্রাতিরিক্ত আবেগ সম্পর্কে ভালোই ধারণা আছে। অন্যের মুখ থেকে শুনতে খারাপ লাগলেও চাইলেই আমি এটা থেকে বের হতে পারবো না। তাতে একসময় যে পরিমাণ খারাপ লাগতো， এখন আর ততোটা লাগে না। এই বইটা পড়তে গিয়ে কতবার যে কেঁদেছি আর নিজেকে বলেছি， "থাম， এটা নিছক একটা গল্প"–তার ঠিক নেই। কাছের কিছু মানুষকে এই বইটা পারলে জোর করে পড়াতাম। আবার এটা ভেবেও ঈর্ষা হচ্ছে যে， মানসিক এই যন্ত্রণার মধ্য দিয়ে তাদেরকে কখনো যেতে হবে না। তারা কখনো বুঝতেই পারবে না， আমি কী বলতে চেয়েছি।আমার খুব ভালো লাগতো， যদি ফেসবুকে এটাই সর্বশেষ পোস্ট হতো， যদি এটা লেখার পরপরই দীর্ঘ সময়ের জন্য অদৃশ্য হয়ে যেতে পারতাম। ভালো লাগতো， যদি জীবদ্দশায় অন্তত এই বইটা অনুবাদ করে যেতে পারতাম। কিন্তু আমি জানি， সেরকম কিছুই হবার নয়।গল্পটা জেবি， ম্যাল্কম， উইলেম আর。。。。জুডের। গল্পটা বাস্তবতার নিকৃষ্ট রূপ আর কালোত্তীর্ণ বন্ধুত্বের। ৭২০ পৃষ্ঠার এই প্রচণ্ড মানসিক ক্লান্তিকর গল্পটা না পড়লে সবথেকে ভালো， পড়লে তার চেয়ে হাজারগুণ ভালো।Now I need a hug。 Oh God！ It hurts。 A lot。 。。。more

Sandy ，

this was an emotional journey and i was so highly attached to the characters。 so well written and heartbreaking。

KaeL ，

Disappointed。。。。 Not even reading about North Korea or the Holocaust tragedies didn't overwhelm me with such strong feelings of agony and depression。 The more I continued the deeper the sadness and dread to the point it got annoying and I began losing all empathy and even started resenting the characters for being so superficially constructed and not being able to grow and develop。 It felt like a bet made by the author: how much suffering can I punch into this story？ And at the end， it failed， u Disappointed。。。。 Not even reading about North Korea or the Holocaust tragedies didn't overwhelm me with such strong feelings of agony and depression。 The more I continued the deeper the sadness and dread to the point it got annoying and I began losing all empathy and even started resenting the characters for being so superficially constructed and not being able to grow and develop。 It felt like a bet made by the author: how much suffering can I punch into this story？ And at the end， it failed， unfortunately， to deliver some kind of meaningful insight on any matters present in the book。 Yeah， ok， we get it！ Life sucks！ But nothing is that one dimensional。 。。。more

Annie Zhu ，

My favorite book but literally I don't recommend anyone to read it。 My favorite book but literally I don't recommend anyone to read it。 。。。more

Rach ，

the best book i’ve ever read not a single bad page

ibsss ，

Cuando comencé a leer este libro no tenía ni idea sobre que iba a tratar， al comienzo parece que es la historia de 4 amigos que se conocen en la universidad pero conforme va avanzando te das cuenta de que en realidad son acompañantes de la historia principal， la de Jude。Me enamoré de Jude， Willem， Malcolm， JB， Harold， Andy， simplemente de todos los personajes， todos cuentan una historia interesante， única y que nos permite conocerlos verdadera y profundamente， todos con vidas diferentes pero don Cuando comencé a leer este libro no tenía ni idea sobre que iba a tratar， al comienzo parece que es la historia de 4 amigos que se conocen en la universidad pero conforme va avanzando te das cuenta de que en realidad son acompañantes de la historia principal， la de Jude。Me enamoré de Jude， Willem， Malcolm， JB， Harold， Andy， simplemente de todos los personajes， todos cuentan una historia interesante， única y que nos permite conocerlos verdadera y profundamente， todos con vidas diferentes pero donde esa diferencia es la que los une。Está escrito de una manera tan hermosa y perfecta， la sensación que me daba al leer es una sensación que no he experimentado en ninguna otra lectura， hasta me cuesta explicarlo， son palabras tan bien escritas， elocuentes， claras y la manera en que fluye el texto en general es impresionante。Es una historia bastante triste y dolorosa pero en ningún momento sentí que fueran simplemente palabras intentando manipularte para sentir lastima por Jude， pienso que era necesario conocer todo lo que vivió para poder comprender porque pensaba y se comportaba como lo hacía y por eso mismo me gusto que no tuviera un final feliz porque creo que no hubiera sido lo más congruente。Un libro increíble y que vale mucho la pena conocer， se convirtió en uno de mis libros favoritos， por no decir， EL FAVORITO！！ 。。。more

Michael Chambers ，

This book was a MARATHON。 I had to put it down for months at a time。 I had to close it immediately because it was too much to process。 But at the same time， it just languidly bumbled about at times too and I was struggling to keep going。 I wanted to like this book more than I ended up liking it。 The ending of the book made up for some of it， but not all。 The irony of a book called “A Little Life” being 720 dense pages is not lost on me。

Melanie Randle ，

**TW**But he'd had years to learn how to keep his thoughts to himself; unlike his friends， he had learned not to share evidence of his oddities as a way to distinguish himself from others， although he was happy and proud that they shared theirs with him。 （p。 100）The hardest thing is not finding the knowledge [。。。] the hardest thing is beliving it。 （226）[。。。] the only trick to friendship， I think， is to find people who are better than you are -not smarter， not cooler， but kinder， and more generou **TW**But he'd had years to learn how to keep his thoughts to himself; unlike his friends， he had learned not to share evidence of his oddities as a way to distinguish himself from others， although he was happy and proud that they shared theirs with him。 （p。 100）The hardest thing is not finding the knowledge [。。。] the hardest thing is beliving it。 （226）[。。。] the only trick to friendship， I think， is to find people who are better than you are -not smarter， not cooler， but kinder， and more generous， and more forgiving- and then to appreciate them for what they can teach you， and to try to listen to them when they tell you something about yourself， no matter how bad-or good- it might beand to trust them， which is the hardest thing of all。 But the best， as well。 （240）But his friendship with Jude made him feel that there was something real and immutable about who he was， that despite his life of guises， there was something elemental about him， something that Jude saw even when he could not， as if Jude's very witness of him made him real。 （494）He will study the back of Jude's head， because Jude can't face him， and imagine the person he thinks he knows collapsing into rubble， clouds of dust gusting around him， as nearby， teams of artisans try to rebuild him in another material， in another shape， as a different person than the person who had stood for years and years。 On and on and on the stories will go， and in the path will life squalor: blood and bones and dirt and diseas and misery。 （607）Wasn't friendship its own miracle， the finding of another person who make the entire lonely world seem somehow less lonely？ （650） 。。。more

Aaron Daniel ，

'Days like this seemed to have no nights' Right。 Where do we begin？ So， the main narrative follows Jude， a man with chronic pain， disabilities and a traumatic past。 This 700+ page novel is an emotional， challenging， difficult task to read。 As I continued to read this， I became addicted and read it with such ferocity that I finished the latter half in a matter of days。 However， I would not read this again。 It's too emotionally exhaustive。 Yanigihara is a very talented writer， the wording， the viv 'Days like this seemed to have no nights' Right。 Where do we begin？ So， the main narrative follows Jude， a man with chronic pain， disabilities and a traumatic past。 This 700+ page novel is an emotional， challenging， difficult task to read。 As I continued to read this， I became addicted and read it with such ferocity that I finished the latter half in a matter of days。 However， I would not read this again。 It's too emotionally exhaustive。 Yanigihara is a very talented writer， the wording， the vivid descriptions， the dream-like surroundings are all gorgeous。 I particularly loved the Lantern House。 It sounded beautiful。 This book will most likely upset you。 The characters will stay with you as well。 Willem is now my favourite character ever written。 The LGBTQ+ representation is also incredible。 I have nothing else to say other than， this book was an experience that I will not forget for a while！ 。。。more

Owenna Stewart ，

The book was recommended as the most heart breaking ， tear jerking book I will ever read。 I read it， and it was just that， I’m still raw with emotion， I could not read this book in public， I would have to stop every sentence or I would turn into a tearful mess。 Immaculate writing， I must give it that。 I’m so angry， sooo angry at everyone。 All I can say after finishing is F*%*ing JUDE！！！ But I digress。 I suppose life is this frustrating and annoying。 But F*%#ing JUDE！！！

Sol Clara Begué ，

I am not okay

Julissa Beltran ，

wow

Barbara ，

C'è qualcosa che mi è piaciuto tantissimo in questo romanzo ed è il senso di sollievo e liberazione che sto provando ora che è finito。Avrei mollato， se non fosse stato per la mia compagna di lettura con la quale， in qualche misura， sentivo di essermi impegnata。 E devo dire che il confronto ha anche giovato all'esperienza tutta， perché condividere il dolore lo esorcizza - e quanto vorrei che lo avessero capito anche alcuni personaggi di Una vita come tante - e alcuni risvolti della trama （a mio a C'è qualcosa che mi è piaciuto tantissimo in questo romanzo ed è il senso di sollievo e liberazione che sto provando ora che è finito。Avrei mollato， se non fosse stato per la mia compagna di lettura con la quale， in qualche misura， sentivo di essermi impegnata。 E devo dire che il confronto ha anche giovato all'esperienza tutta， perché condividere il dolore lo esorcizza - e quanto vorrei che lo avessero capito anche alcuni personaggi di Una vita come tante - e alcuni risvolti della trama （a mio avviso discutibili）， che in solitudine mi avrebbero semplicemente seccata e/o annoiata， sono stati motivo di qualche risata。Una vita come tante parte in sordina e poi， con una scrittura avvolgente e scorrevole， la vita di questi quattro amici a New York， giovani e pieni di speranze， ti conquista。Ricordo che ho iniziato presto a immaginarli， a vederli muovere nella mia testa。 Mi sembrava di conoscerli e non per la "quantità" di pagine che sono state loro dedicate， bensì per la "qualità" del racconto。Tuttavia， ad un certo punto， tutto questo si perde。 L'attenzione si sposta su un solo personaggio， poi due， poi di nuovo uno soltanto。 Del resto， il titolo aveva promesso una sola "little life"， ma questo è stato il primo grosso errore della Hanayagihara: introdurre i suoi （splendidi） personaggi ventenni， arricchendone fin dal principio le storie di dettagli， e poi dedicare i restanti 3/4 del libroal passato di uno di loro e all'evoluzione a lungo termine di una schiera di zombie。 Zombie che fanno carriera， comunque， sia chiaro。Perché e per come non è dato saperlo， si vede che non era importante。La scrittura così magnetica e affabulatrice diventa stucchevole e ripetitiva。 Le pagine sono tante， troppe。 La quinta parte （a mio avviso） andava accorciata， la sesta finanche eliminata。Quello che succede al protagonista è folle e inverosimile。 Leggo che l'autrice voleva scavare a fondo nella sofferenza， ma non è una sequenza di orrori a dare consistenza al dolore。 E questo è， a mio avviso， un racconto sviluppato in orizzontale e invece avrebbe dovuto essere sviluppato in verticale （basta una sola buca profondissima in cui precipitare per non trovare via d'uscita）。Pagine e pagine monotone， incolori， claustrofobiche。 A quale scopo？ Cosa vuole dirci la scrittrice？ Non l'ho capito。Non ho gradito la svolta romantica， anche piuttosto prevedibile， che mi ha fatto cascare le braccia。Patetico è l'aggettivo che ho usato più spesso per descrivere la piega che ha preso la storia da un certo punto in poi。Credo di averlo ripetuto tra me e me tante volte， ma è niente in confronto ai "mi dispiace" e "scusa" che si possono contare in questo libro。Io non sto dalla parte della Hanayagihara， ma da quella di McCartney:Hey Jude， don't make it bad。Take a sad song and make it better。 。。。more

Kevin Lee ，

A lotta good。 Depressing as hell。 Reminds me of the Faulkner line， it takes two people to make you， and one people to die。 Is it deliberately grotesque and unsentimental？ Um yeah。 But there is pain in pleasure， and pleasure in pain。 Judgment is a privilege。 Bemoan or rave， it's all the same in the end。 To each a life， nothing more。 A lotta good。 Depressing as hell。 Reminds me of the Faulkner line， it takes two people to make you， and one people to die。 Is it deliberately grotesque and unsentimental？ Um yeah。 But there is pain in pleasure， and pleasure in pain。 Judgment is a privilege。 Bemoan or rave， it's all the same in the end。 To each a life， nothing more。 。。。more

Ellen Oscarsson ，

Jamen är det den bästa bok jag läst kanske。 Tack hanya för underbara jude， willem， jb， malcolm och harold。Aldrig läst om vänskap skilldrad på ett så vackert sätt。

Zoe ，

dear god！ am i glad！ that this book is over！ok here we go。from a technical standpoint。。。。this book was fine， good。 Hanya Yanagihara clearly knows how to write。 BUT there were many points during which i felt like she was TRYING so hard to write， and to make the writing meaningful， that it ended up feeling overwrought and tedious and distracting。 this writing-that-is-trying-to-write definitely contributes to the frankly unnecessary sheer length of the book， and altho it's not the sole factor， it m dear god！ am i glad！ that this book is over！ok here we go。from a technical standpoint。。。。this book was fine， good。 Hanya Yanagihara clearly knows how to write。 BUT there were many points during which i felt like she was TRYING so hard to write， and to make the writing meaningful， that it ended up feeling overwrought and tedious and distracting。 this writing-that-is-trying-to-write definitely contributes to the frankly unnecessary sheer length of the book， and altho it's not the sole factor， it made me more frustrated while reading & ready to be over with it。everyone lauds this book as a deep character study of four close friends， but really it's only about two of those friends， and really really only about one。 so， yes， i felt like i knew Jude intimately and cared about him， and there were ways he reminded me of people i care about because of how well-developed he was as a character， and that made the reading experience more personal & meaningful for me。 overall， tho， the other characters （with exceptions） largely felt shallow or underdeveloped or honestly， & most upsettingly， forgotten after a little bit of character development in the beginning of the book。 as a result i felt like there were several issues that were completely disregarded and unresolved。 sure， maybe those issues weren't the POINT of the book， but then， why include them if you're not going to follow up？ I don't know。 not everything needs to be wrapped up neatly with a bow， of course， but there were a couple major things w/ JB and Malcolm who are ostensibly important characters where i was like 。。。。 wait。。。 。what happened！ are we just forgetting earlier parts of this book bc it was so damn long？ok and now for the CONTENT of the book！！！！！ the moment you've all been waiting for！！！！ i'd initially like to defer to Noelle's review （see: https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。） which elaborates on the question: WHY is this book so highly and sometimes even carelessly recommended when， if you've read it， you KNOW how intense and graphically traumatic it is？there's such a sensationalized， cultish attitude towards this book， and people act like reading it is some kind of badge of honor， and it feels like a really weird competition of "how much did this book fuck you up？ it fucked me up MORE。" also， even when people are critical of that view of the book， i feel like everyone still talks about whether & how much they cried while reading it， & i don't think crying is the be-all end-all of a good book。 things can make you cry b/c they're overwhelming but not necessarily meaningful to you， & things can be meaningful to you w/o making you cry， & i just feel like who cares， your actual thoughts about the book are more interesting than your buckets of tears。。。 i love a good cry as much as the next Sad Gal but whether or not i did while reading A Little Life feels kinda irrelevant。because of the cult of bookpersonality， i was SO ANXIOUS while reading A Little Life， and it detracted from actually experiencing the book。 i kept hearing about oh it only gets worse， you don't even know what's coming， and i was just like what the fck is coming？？？？ and feeling nervous the whole time i was reading。 i think had i not heard so much about it i would've been better able to take the intense moments at face value and understand them on my own。that said， there is SO MUCH trauma in this book that at a certain point i felt almost desensitized to it。。。。 not exactly， i was deeply upset by what these characters go through & i had to put the book down for days at a time， but sometimes i just thought， ok Hanya， what horrible thing are you going to put us through next， get it over with。writing about trauma is important， even if it's not the author's own experience， because it can give voice to an experience that has been silenced。 unfortunately， i've heard that Yanagihara's aim with this book was to make it as upsetting & soul-crushing as possible， which she clearly has achieved， but which to me feels like a pretty shitty reason to be writing about trauma。 ya know？ it's exploitative。Kat from paperbackdreams on youtube made two points that i also want to reference:1。 it would have been nice to see the four friends during their college years more， because we're expected to accept that they're the best of pals without really seeing them together so much。2。 as a work of queer literature， this book does not feel empowering。 as Kat put it， it often feels like identity is being USED to make you care more about the characters & therefore make it hurt more when bad things happen。 there is NOTHING good or hopeful about being queer in this book。 not great！ok so lots of ranting。 all that being said， i am genuinely glad i read this book。 there were beautiful moments， and relatable moments， and good writing， and characters i cared about。 i did not hate it。 i often — enjoyed is the wrong word here — appreciated that i was reading it。 would i recommend it？ maybe， after careful consideration of the myriad content warnings （see below） （they're deterring）。 is it a must-read？ no！！！ （is anything a MUST-read？ of course not， but there are countless other books i'd eagerly force upon my friends before this one。）WHEW！！！！ i really don't know if or how much i liked this book。 it took a long ass time to read and i'm very ready to read something else。content warnings: self harm， suicidal ideation， attempted suicide， disordered eating， physical abuse of a minor， domestic abuse， abuse of character with a disability， loss of a child， drug abuse/addiction， sexual assault/rape， child sexual abuse， pedophilia， ptsd， forced prostitution of a minor 。。。more

Scott ，

well， i finally did it。 i finished A Little Life。 for how heart crushing the story is， i loved the book。 the characters。 oh my word， hanya yanagihara is the jedi of writing relationships。 her ability to pull every emotion out of me and to really write the characters in such a way that i felt that i knew them so well。 jude and willem melted my heart。 their love for each other so true and absolute。 and harold and julia。 and andy。 love love love。 writing style。 i appreciated the varying perspective well， i finally did it。 i finished A Little Life。 for how heart crushing the story is， i loved the book。 the characters。 oh my word， hanya yanagihara is the jedi of writing relationships。 her ability to pull every emotion out of me and to really write the characters in such a way that i felt that i knew them so well。 jude and willem melted my heart。 their love for each other so true and absolute。 and harold and julia。 and andy。 love love love。 writing style。 i appreciated the varying perspectives as well as the different points of view。 this really enabled the story to meander and i thought it was very well done。 the end。 hanya did an awesome job with the ending。 i had a feeling that what happened would happen and was more or less curious to see how it played out and i thought hanya did it as well as you can do it。 an aside。 i went to see my therapist yesterday and was telling her about the book and how last weekend i was reading and literally sobbing and i was giving her a cliffs notes version of what it was about and in the end she half jokingly said “i hope the author goes to therapy”。 no doubt。 five stars ⭐️ i’m going to read something a little lighter now。 🥰 。。。more

Anna ，

i am not okay😁

Mellany K ，

My immediate reaction is to give this book 5 stars。 This book is an emotional roller coaster。 It is laden with tragedy and trauma interspersed with moments of love and beauty and hope。 I think that it will be hard for a lot of people to get through this story - it is incredibly heavy， very depressing， and could be incredibly triggering for many readers。 In spite of all of this， there is something indescribably beautiful about this book - the truth and vulnerability of it。 The fact that it doesn’ My immediate reaction is to give this book 5 stars。 This book is an emotional roller coaster。 It is laden with tragedy and trauma interspersed with moments of love and beauty and hope。 I think that it will be hard for a lot of people to get through this story - it is incredibly heavy， very depressing， and could be incredibly triggering for many readers。 In spite of all of this， there is something indescribably beautiful about this book - the truth and vulnerability of it。 The fact that it doesn’t have a happy ending is so fitting to the heartbreak and devastation of Jude’s life。 This is a raw， honest portrayal of how persistently severe trauma can impact a person’s life and the lives of those around them for years and years despite the positive forces and experiences that so desperately try to offset it。 。。。more

Amelia Summer ，

read this but don’t read it。 it’s good but you’ll be traumatised xo

Züß ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Man this book was way too long。 It should count twice towards my reading goals。 Finished it out of pure obstinacy。 Here’s what i didnt like:1。 The fact that *at least* half of it could have been edited out with zero impact on the story or characters。 2。 The endless repetition， of plotlines， of scenes， of metaphors。3。 The fact that JB and Malcolm were so callously dropped from the storyline pretty early on。4。 The fact that there were ZERO fleshed out female characters， not even Julia， the main ch Man this book was way too long。 It should count twice towards my reading goals。 Finished it out of pure obstinacy。 Here’s what i didnt like:1。 The fact that *at least* half of it could have been edited out with zero impact on the story or characters。 2。 The endless repetition， of plotlines， of scenes， of metaphors。3。 The fact that JB and Malcolm were so callously dropped from the storyline pretty early on。4。 The fact that there were ZERO fleshed out female characters， not even Julia， the main character’s adopted mother who might as well have been a side table for all her relevance。5。 The abuse， which the author claims she deliberately took too far to push the reader， but which therefore began to lack believability and so has the opposite effect。 The point where every trucker from montana to philly is a paedophile was where she lost it for me， up to that point it was awful and harrowing but after that it was clear she was trying to push further but had no more creative ideas than “more， more！”6。 Reading about their pretentious dinner parties over the years and which set of pretentiously named friends had decided to attend each one， as though it was possible to keep track of who the hell they all were anyway。7。 Their ridiculous travel plans and the fancy ingredients for their fancy meals and their luxury real estate renovations。 We get it。 You have a lot of ideas about how you’d like to live if you were rich。8。 But it’s okay cause they donate to all these starving artist charities！ When do they have the time？ And how the fuck are they all so ridiculously successful anyway？ Who cares， details， details！9。 The details of every single one of JB’s exhibitions and every single one of Willem’s plays。 I just don’t care， why bother writing them。10。 The overall unbelievability of everything。11。 The description and handling of Jude’s injuries， at once unnecessarily detailed and frustratingly vague。 12。 The way it ended。 We werent even with jude when he died。 Why take us all that way to describe it at arm’s length？ What’s that you wanted the shock value of a final twist on the very last page？ Didn’t think it would be weird not to explain the main character’s mindset at that point， after having forced it upon us for all of 500 pages？ Ugh。 At least explain。Overall， there were seeds of good writing and a heartbreaking premise but my god hire an editor and save some fucking trees。 。。。more

Bella 🍯 ，

unfortunately， this book was just a bit too overwhelming for me， so I dnf'd it at ~400 pages。 whilst i loved what i read of it- yanigahara's style is seriously beautiful， and she captures the essence of human nature perfectly- the subject matter is seriously dark and it's definitely not a book to pick up on a whim like i perhaps did。 i felt spooked for days after reading certain scenes， so please be careful and do some research beforehand if you want to give this one a try！ unfortunately， this book was just a bit too overwhelming for me， so I dnf'd it at ~400 pages。 whilst i loved what i read of it- yanigahara's style is seriously beautiful， and she captures the essence of human nature perfectly- the subject matter is seriously dark and it's definitely not a book to pick up on a whim like i perhaps did。 i felt spooked for days after reading certain scenes， so please be careful and do some research beforehand if you want to give this one a try！ 。。。more

João Costa ，

it hurts， tbh。

Dan Squire ，

This is perhaps the most harrowing， haunting book I've ever read。 Unbelievably moving。 I was recommended it several years ago and have been delaying picking it up because it was quite long， but my god is it worth it。I listened to it as an audiobook – the narrator's performance was exceptional – and it is the first audiobook that has ever made me cry （several times）。This book will traumatise you。 You should read it。 This is perhaps the most harrowing， haunting book I've ever read。 Unbelievably moving。 I was recommended it several years ago and have been delaying picking it up because it was quite long， but my god is it worth it。I listened to it as an audiobook – the narrator's performance was exceptional – and it is the first audiobook that has ever made me cry （several times）。This book will traumatise you。 You should read it。 。。。more

Lan Chi ，

BORING AS HELL DID NOT CRY。 DO NOT RECOMMEND。 read the trigger warnings tho。

Chrizelle Jodie ，

unforgettable。

Kristen ，

yeah， just wait for this reading vlog。。。。。

Helen Gage ，

There were times I thought I’d give this 5 stars。 There was a lot I loved about it but I have never experienced such a strong reluctance to return to a novel， despite being desperate to know how the story would end。 I marvelled at her creation of such fascinating characters， with their complex and （occasionally） enviable lifestyles and my wish to visit New York is now far stronger but， on balance， I wish I had not read this book。

Benjamin ，

J’ai mis du temps à terminer ce livre。。。je le lisais mais devais régulièrement interrompre ma lecture， car j’étais submergé d’émotions fortes， je prenais donc quelques jours， parfois quelques semaines avant de me replonger dedans。 L’écriture est très belle， Hanya Yanagihara peint le portrait de quatre amis de fac avec beaucoup de finesse。 L’histoire est dure， d’une grande intensité， violente， on est témoins de scènes d’une grande brutalité （viols collectifs， abus， emprise， la liste est longue）， J’ai mis du temps à terminer ce livre。。。je le lisais mais devais régulièrement interrompre ma lecture， car j’étais submergé d’émotions fortes， je prenais donc quelques jours， parfois quelques semaines avant de me replonger dedans。 L’écriture est très belle， Hanya Yanagihara peint le portrait de quatre amis de fac avec beaucoup de finesse。 L’histoire est dure， d’une grande intensité， violente， on est témoins de scènes d’une grande brutalité （viols collectifs， abus， emprise， la liste est longue）， et c’est là où pour moi la lecture s’est avérée plus difficile， me sentant témoin passif d’une violence intolérable。 Certains scènes d’une grande cruauté m’ont été douloureuses à lire， me laissant en larmes et extrêmement peiné。 Je pense qu’un avertissement sur le caractère très graphique de la violence présente dans ce livre serait une bonne chose sur ce livre。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Little Life

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Little Life&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Little Life&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0