A Little Life

How can I even review this book? I feel as though there is nothing I could write to do such a masterpiece the justice it deserves. In a word: unforgettable.

I just want to give Jude and Willem and Harold a big hug. Their pain felt so real to me.

A little life is absolutely devastating and relentlessly painful, but so vivid and raw and beautiful. I won't lie, in the first few pages I really thought I was going to be bored and I wondered how on earth I was going to get through over 700 pages - probably the biggest book I've ever read - but I was quickly engulfed by it. I loved and cared for the characters (of which I think Harold was my favourite) so deeply and that's what made this book so agonising to read. I cried at least once a chapter. But even through the worst and most horrible scenes, there were many beautiful ones, however small. Little pockets of light that captured the beauty of loving and being loved.

That being said, I can absolutely say that for many people the traumatising parts of the book (which make up a significant portion) will render it not worth the read. This book comes with HEAVY trigger warnings for a reason - it goes into very graphic detail of self harm, suicide, rape, addiction, physical and sexual abuse. I did at times find myself wondering whether such graphic detail was really necessary to tell the story, and whether there even is any right way to depict such horrific themes. But I think that if there is, then Yanagihara has executed it well. I feel as though she explored and portrayed trauma in a way that makes you understand some of the many complicated ways in which people react to trauma and how it continues to affect them throughout their lives, but without romanticising it in the slightest. I was heartbroken by the end of the book, but I was at peace as well.

Lastly, I adore Yanagihara's style of writing. I feel as though it flows in the exact same way that my thoughts do, which allowed me to glide so effortlessly through the writing and to really feel that I was inside the characters heads. Her ability to create such an intricate world, and characters with such depth and nuance, is astounding. Incredibly well written.