A LITTLE LIFE
Author: Hanya Yanagihara 🟣 Fiction 🟣 Published: Mar. 10th, 2015 🟣 My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐! 🟣 Review Date: Dec. 19th, 2023
A heart-wrenching masterpiece, A Little Life, weaves a tale of love, friendship, and the profound complexities of human suffering.
Photo by Carmen Perez | @Carmelita.87
First, I highly suggest that no one under at least 25 years of age reads this book. Not only because of the triggering subject matters (child abuse, self-harm, suicidal ideation), but also due to most of the deeper intricacies of identity, partnership, the college experience, and career will likely be lost to adolescents. Additionally, if you are an adult over 25, I suggest that as you read this book that you check in with a loved one when you need to. It's understandable to take reading breaks or to not finish this book altogether.
I can't bring myself to summarize the plot for you. By doing so, I feel the most significant message you need to know would be lost: Jude is the sun for which everything and everyone else orbits in this story, regardless of what is happening within the fierce friendship of its four main characters. I rather tell you that this book has the power to change you if you let it. When the phrase "a little life" is used for the first time in the novel, your heart will sink, and it will continue to sink further into your stomach every time it is used throughout the novel. Jude pulls you into this book and doesn't let you go, even when you're done reading it. I have found myself thinking about Jude in brief moments throughout my day, even months later.
I have to admit; I read this book only recently because of the intense reactions readers were having from it and I thought it would provide me with a cathartic release. Sometimes you just need a good cry, am I right? However, I was relatively calm and held together while reading. I may have not cried as much as some other readers seem to suggest, but I am convinced this is a masterpiece of literature. It's a devastating read, but perhaps the masterful slow climb that author Hanya Yanagihara takes us on is languid enough to allow a person like me to process Jude's pain and trauma deliberately. I cried with joy during one wonderful development early in the book, cried with deep sorrow during the "Happy Years" and, of course, I cried the hardest at its conclusion. You will be enthralled and left speechless throughout reading this novel.
I haven't read a book this rich, complex, and with an ability to elicit such a deep love (or hate) for its characters in a long time. The highs and lows that four college friends endure throughout their lifetimes felt real, and I found myself relating and connecting with Jude and Willem instantly. Despite not being a mother, I could feel a profound yearning to care, protect, help, and nurture Jude, personifying Harold and Willem in key moments in the novel, wishing I could reach out and hold Jude and tell him he was enough.
As a school counselor, I enjoy hearing that some readers have noticed a shift in their daily perspectives by reading this book. They are more aware of the fact that you never know what someone has gone through and how much their trauma is affecting them. Trauma can bring enormous bouts of shame and feelings of abandonment and betrayal. What can we do to empathetically help a person who is hurting? "A Little Life" offers a solution: Be kind. Kindness brings hope. Hope brings trust. Trust makes way for healing.
““And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him.””
Challenges:
Book 39 out of 100
2023 BeatTheBacklist - "More Than 450 Pages”
2023 Popsugar - "Book with Alliteration in the Title”
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