Hanya Yanagihara

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015. Shortlisted for the Baileys Prize for Women's Fiction 2016. Finalist for the National Book Awards 2015. The million copy bestseller, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, is an immensely powerful and heartbreaking novel of brotherly love and the limits of human endurance. When four graduates 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cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their centre of gravity.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.

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015

A Little Life

Tan poca vida

Karola

Tenía toda clase de reglas que había ido elaborando a lo largo de las décadas, basadas en lecciones que alguien debía de haberle dado -a qué no tenía derecho, qué le estaba vedado disfrutar, qué tenía prohibido esperar o anhelar, qué no debía codiciar-, reglas que yo tardé varios años en desentrañar, y aún más tiempo en discurrir de qué modo podía convencerlo de su falsedad. Pero eso era muy difícil: gracias a esas reglas había sobrevivido, le hacían el mundo explicable. Era increíblemente disciplinado en todo y la disciplina, como el estado de alerta, es algo casi imposible de erradicar. 

¿Por qué la amistad no era tan buena como una relación sentimental? ¿Por qué no era incluso mejor? Eran dos personas que permanecían juntas, día tras día, a quienes no las unía el sexo ni la atracción física ni el dinero ni los hijos ni una propiedad, solo el compromiso de seguir adelante y la dedicación mutua a una unión que nunca podría ser codificada. La amistad era ser testigo del lento goteo de tristezas del otro, de sus largas rachas de aburrimiento y de algún que otro triunfo. Era sentirse honrado privilegio de estar presente en sus momentos más duros y saber que a cambio podía permitirse estar triste en su presencia. 

Ahora no entiendes a qué me refiero, pero algún día lo com- prenderás. Creo que el único secreto que tiene la amistad es dar con personas que sean mejores que tủ, no más listas ni más non- lares sino más buenas, más generosas y más compasivas, y valorarlas por lo que pueden enseñarte, escucharlas cuando te dicen algo sobre ti, por malo (o bueno) que sea, y confiar en ellas, que es lo más difícil de todo, pero también lo mejor. 

axiom of equality is the most horrifying single chapter of a book i have ever read in my life. 

angel abad cesa 

A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves.

A Novel

Macy HB

Despite his collection of friends from long ago, there was an insistent present tenseness to how JB saw and experienced life, and around him, even the most dedicated nostalgists found themselves less inclined to pick over the chaff and glitter of the past, and instead made themselves contend with whoever the person standing before them had become.

But it is a singular love, because it is a love whose foundation is not physical attraction, or pleasure, or intellect, but fear. You have never known fear until you have a child, and maybe that is what tricks us into thinking that it is more magnificent, because the fear itself is more magnificent.

No matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.

And although he tried every day to remember the promise he’d made to her, every day it became more and more remote, until it was just a memory, and so was she, a beloved character from a book he’d read long ago. 

Martin Meyer

„Not in life. You see, Jude, in life, sometimes nice things happen to good people. You don't need to worry — they don't happen as often as they should. But when they do, it's up to the good people to just say thank you, and move on, and maybe consider that the person who's doing the nice thing gets a bang out of it as well, and really isn't in the mood to hear all the reasons that the person for whom he's done the nice thing doesn't think he deserves it or isn't worthy of it."

Sin embargo, lo que Andy nunca había entendido era su optimismo. Mes tras mes, semana tras semana, Jude optaban por abrir los ojos y vivir otro día. Lo hacía cuando se encontraba tan mal que el dolor parecía transportarlo a otro estado, en el que todo, incluso el pasado que tanto se había esforzado por olvidar, parecía diluirse en una acuarela gris. Lo hacía cuando todos sus recuerdos desplazaban todos lo demás pensamientos, cuando le suponía un verdadero esfuerzo, un gran concentración, ceñirse a su vida diaria, y contener el bramido de desesperación y vergüenza. Lo hacía cuando estaba agotado de intentarlo, y estar despierto y vivo le exigía tanta energía. 

Podría decirte que este incidente es una metáfora de la vida: los objetos se rompen y a veces se reparan, pero en la mayoría de los casos te das cuenta de que, por graves que sean los daños, la vida se reorganiza para compensarte tu pérdida, a veces de manera maravillosa. 

Ana era la primera y la última persona a quien no había necesitado contarle nada. Ella sabía que él llevaba su vida grabada en la piel, que su biografía estaba escrita en su carne y sus huesos. 

Estaba a punto de decir "feliz", pero ¿qué era la felicidad si no un lujo, un estado imposible de alcanzar, en parte por lo difícil qué resultaba expresarla? No recordaba haber sido capaz de definir la felicidad en su niñez; solo había habido miseria y miedo o ausencia de miseria y miedo, y eso último era todo lo que necesitaba o quería.

The only trick of 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 be, and to trust them, which is the hardest thing of all. But the best, as well.

He was able to comprehend that the people he had grown to trust might someday betray him anyway, and that as disappointing as it might be, it was inevitable as well, and that life would keep propelling him steadily forward, because for everyone who might fail him in some way, there was at least one person who never would.

Sandra Zhang

 the night had become the same night he'd had hundreds of times before: the same rhythms, the same despair, the same awful feeling of suspension

I don’t think happiness is for me. But it’s for you, Willem.

Mari

"If I were a different kind of person, I might say that this whole incident is a metaphor for life in general: things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize that no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.

… he sometimes wished he had a mind like JB’s, one that could create stories that would delight others, instead of the mind he did have, which was always searching for an explanation, and explanation that, while perhaps correct, was empty of romance, of fancy, of wit.

He experienced the singular pleasure of watching people be loved fall in love with other people he loved.

“The world has two kinds of people,” Judge Sullivan used to say. “Those who are inclined to believe, and those who aren’t. In my courtroom, we value belief. Belief in all things.”

And although the tried everyday to remember the promise he’d made to her, every day it became more and more remote, until it was just a memory, and so was she, a beloved character from a book he’d read long ago.

“The easiest explanations are often the right ones,” his math professor, Dr. Li, always said,…

Friendship, companionship: it so often defied logic, so often eluded the deserving, so often settled itself on the odd, the bad, the peculiar, the damaged.

for a sappy soul, i did not cry but my heart wrenched a tad bit. this was a begrudgingly slow plot but i loved every part of it. seth was right, if we are lucky we find maybe 3 or 4 life qualities in someone and we get to call them our partner. and that struck a chord deep within me. i was telling a friend that we get to choose who loves us & if we’re worthy of it and he told me why do we get to decide that? and he was right, there is enough love to go around

Hard book to read. But was so well thought out. Was honestly not expecting Jude to die. I thought the heartbreak would be over after Willem and malcholms deaths but nope. Willem and Jude are hopefully together. Harold at the end broke me. That man deserves all the happiness in the world 

Katie Roberts

I will have to say it's well-written but I got tired of it near the end. It can get repetitive, and it's very, very, long. 

I also didn't cry, but that's more on me than on the book.

Otherwise, I thought it painted a nice picture of male companionship. The title drop was was also masterfully executed, and quite unforgettable. Keep your eyes peeled for it, that's all I ask of you.

Throckmorton

I will have to say it's well-written but I got tired of it near the end. It can get repetitive, and it's very, very, long. 

I also didn't cry, but that's more on me than on the book.

Otherwise, I thought it painted a nice picture of male companionship. The title drop was was also masterfully executed, and quite unforgettable. Keep your eyes peeled for it, that's all I ask of you.

I went in thinking “I never cry at books. Everyone’s being dramatic.”

Dearest gentle reader - they are not being dramatic. 

I am missing characters as if they existed. Just a beautiful story of friendship, pain, healing, and loss. Please, please pick it up. 

Liv N.

Haunting. Beautiful. Raw.

I went in thinking “I never cry at books. Everyone’s being dramatic.”

Dearest gentle reader - they are not being dramatic. 

I am missing characters as if they existed. Just a beautiful story of friendship, pain, healing, and loss. Please, please pick it up. 

watched the stage play and i do not need to emotionally go through that again goodbye

felicity hu

The best and worst book there ever was or will be. Took me months to finish it. It is a literary equivalent of someone stabbing you with a knife and twisting it and twisting it. 

Jovana Gjekanovikj 

The best and worst book there ever was or will be. Took me months to finish it. It is a literary equivalent of someone stabbing you with a knife and twisting it and twisting it. 

Best of luck to anyone who reads it.

Degersiz Bir Hayat

no one can save a person who thinks  he/she doesn't deserve to be saved 

burcu yigit

I bought this book in June and had started reading it immediately. I love Hanya’s style of writing; easy to follow yet so much depth and details… but this wasn’t an easy read at all. 

I had already known that this book is going to be a slow, sad, and depressing read. But, I did not imagine it to break my heart into a gazillion pieces. I remember a friend mentioning that I must be so happy and that my life must be so perfect to want to torture my self reading this book. I also remember a friend warning me to not read at least the last 100 pages in public…

I read this book on the daily when commuting and over the weekends. I think emotions started to flood in when I was closer to a third of the book. That’s when I realised I really need to stop reading it in public because there were times on the train when I really had to stop my tears from falling. And so, I continued reading it at home in my own time…

I went through so many emotions reading this book - more sadness than happiness but strangely, some comfort too. There are some moments in this book that made me reflect and think deeply about the relationships in my life - with my partner, my family, and my friends. I also thought deeply about adulthood and how easy it is for us to get consumed by the idea of success and how fast we want to have it. I was comforted with the fact that when these characters were in their late twenties, they were just starting out… with careers, with friendships, with relationships - with life in general.

I finished reading this book just half an hour ago. I had prepared myself for the worst but never have I imagined that I would literally hang on to every single written word and bawled my eyes out to this book - I was inconsolable (I still am). I felt the comfort, the pain, the peace, the anger, the frustration - every single emotions known to me. I never think myself of someone that’s imaginative but this book has allowed me to depict and see clearly every single scene in every single page and chapter. It was as if I was running a movie in my head. 

I know that this is the type of book that I’ll never read again - not that i don’t want to but I don’t think that I can ever again. I’m truly and genuinely heartbroken by this piece. How can something so painful be so beautiful? How can something so violent be so peaceful? How can something so chaotic be so comforting? 

Anyways, highly recommend if you want to torture yourself and seep into the darkness of depression. Heavy read but easy to follow. Not suitable to be read in public. 

Ariariari

I bought this book in June and had started reading it immediately. I love Hanya’s style of writing; easy to follow yet so much depth and details… but this wasn’t an easy read at all. 

I had already known that this book is going to be a slow, sad, and depressing read. But, I did not imagine it to break my heart into a gazillion pieces. I remember a friend mentioning that I must be so happy and that my life must be so perfect to want to torture my self reading this book. I also remember a friend warning me to not read at least the last 100 pages in public…

I read this book on the daily when commuting and over the weekends. I think emotions started to flood in when I was closer to a third of the book. That’s when I realised I really need to stop reading it in public because there were times on the train when I really had to stop my tears from falling. And so, I continued reading it at home in my own time…

I went through so many emotions reading this book - more sadness than happiness but strangely, some comfort too. There are some moments in this book that made me reflect and think deeply about the relationships in my life - with my partner, my family, and my friends. I also thought deeply about adulthood and how easy it is for us to get consumed by the idea of success and how fast we want to have it. I was comforted with the fact that when these characters were in their late twenties, they were just starting out… with careers, with friendships, with relationships - with life in general.

I finished reading this book just half an hour ago. I had prepared myself for the worst but never have I imagined that I would literally hang on to every single written word and bawled my eyes out to this book - I was inconsolable (I still am). I felt the comfort, the pain, the peace, the anger, the frustration - every single emotions known to me. I never think myself of someone that’s imaginative but this book has allowed me to depict and see clearly every single scene in every single page and chapter. It was as if I was running a movie in my head. 

I know that this is the type of book that I’ll never read again - not that i don’t want to but I don’t think that I can ever again. I’m truly and genuinely heartbroken by this piece. How can something so painful be so beautiful? How can something so violent be so peaceful? How can something so chaotic be so comforting? 

Anyways, highly recommend if you want to torture yourself and seep into the darkness of depression. Heavy read but easy to follow. Not suitable to be read in public. 

elinabel hidalgo 

My therapist is going to be thrilled with the amount of material this book has provided for our sessions.

Indi

Oh god what to say about this masterpiece, I loved every single one of them, I felt like I was living life, enjoying the moments, laughing with them, crying for something with them. I was with all of them, I was one of the group. Truly something astonishing in my opinion 

Aris 

so that was a long painful book... i feel like the tears have left permanent scars on my face

Eylül Şimşek

SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2015 "Astonishing and unsettling ... A masterwork" San Francisco Chronicle "A book that demands to be read." Wall Street Journal The million copy bestseller, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, is an immensely powerful and heartbreaking novel of brotherly love and the limits of human endurance. When four graduates 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 centre 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. ACCLAIM FOR A LITTLE LIFE Shortlisted for the Baileys Prize for Women's Fiction 2016 Winner of The Kirkus Prize 2015 Finalist for the National Book Awards 2015 "Transporting . . . A Little Life is not to be missed." Evening Standard "The first must-read novel of the year" Kirkus "A singularly profound and moving work . . . It's not often that you read a book of this length and find yourself thinking "I wish it was longer" but Yanagihara takes you so deeply into the lives and minds of these characters that you struggle to leave them behind." The Times "Makes for near-hypnotically compelling reading, a vivid, hyperreal portrait of human existence that demands intense emotional investment . . . An astonishing achievement: a novel of grand drama and sentiment, but it's a canvas Yanagihara has painted with delicate, subtle brushstrokes." Independent "Utterly compelling . . . quite an extraordinary novel. It is impossible to put down . . . And it is almost impossible to forget." Daily Express

Not sure if words can describe what reading this felt like. I had to put down the book, pause and breathe, at several times. From fear, anticipation, happiness and heartbreak. You might love this book or hate it. I loved its depictions of grief, but more importantly, of love with friendship at its core. It’s hopeful and devastating. It’s like having a raw exposed nerve, feeling the characters so viscerally. I liked that the story followed the characters through decades and the narrative references itself in a way that is rewarding to the reader and realistic/true-to-life. 

(Please check the content warnings before reading!) 

Xiang

Not sure if words can describe what reading this felt like. I had to put down the book, pause and breathe, at several times. From fear, anticipation, happiness and heartbreak. You might love this book or hate it. I loved its depictions of grief, but more importantly, of love with friendship at its core. It’s hopeful and devastating. It’s like having a raw exposed nerve, feeling the characters so viscerally. I liked that the story followed the characters through decades and the narrative references itself in a way that is rewarding to the reader and realistic/true-to-life. 

(Please check the content warnings before reading!) 

emotionally- i would only recommend this to ppl i hate 

Keila Rico 

literarily- a masterpiece 

emotionally- i would only recommend this to ppl i hate 

Denise 

it was hard reading the book, yet at other times i couldnt stop. i enjoyed that the book solely focuses on the group’s friendships without the worldly affairs seeping in, and i enjoyed their friendship through the years. my heart aches for jude and what he went through; at the same time i am horrified; traumatised, and i dont even dare to envision what he went through, and the strength of character to keep going. 

on hindsight, i do wish to have more insight into other characters’ plausible reasons to love him. or is there a reason needed to love someone? maybe this book is trying to tell me—you just do. no questions asked.

there are books you pick up and enjoy, or dislike, but this book—this book will be unforgettable.

Kirsten Kim

never felt physical pain in my heart from a book

In this reread l, I learn there is an ugly arrogance in deciding who gets to love me and if I deserve it. Ofc I cried 

Mira <3

Ghofran Mustafa 

I don't even have the words to say how reading this made me feel..

Anna 

2,5*
....
já přesně nevím, co si o té knize mám myslet. chápu, proč se lidem líbí, ty postavy jsou strašně dobře napsané (edit: teď přemýšlím nad tím, jestli to je opravdu tak, když se za 30 let, co jsme je sledovali, vlastně vůbec nezměnili. to mě na tom taky strašně štvalo. jb se pořád choval jako dítě, Jude jako chudák, kterej se utápí ve smutku a přitom má pomoc na dosah ruky celých 800 stran,...), storytelling je vynikající, člověk to čte rychle, i když to má tolik stran a v podstatě se tam nic tak zajímavého neděje.
ale bohužel mi přijde, že ironicky ty momenty, na který jsme v tý knize všichni čekali, tomu to kouzlo ubírají. ta traumata, o kterých se tam mluví, mi nesedla. což je strašně zvláštní vůbec o traumatech říct. přijde mi, že autorka naschvál napsala to nejhorší, co se může stát, včetně např. vymyšlené nemoci, jen aby mohla popsat její extrémně bolestivý průběh. postavám dala temnou minulost, tak moc temnou, že se ptám, zda tohle vůbec někdo mohl prožít. myslím, že méně je někdy více. v jedné knize toho prostě bylo až moc a z děje mně to vytrhávalo, spíš než aby mě to tam vtáhlo.
vadila mi i třeba jména postav, u kterých jsem se vždycky musela smát (karma, dr. constructor, citizen). a ten konec. já nevím, jestli to bylo nutný. jestli to nebylo prostě trauma porno a jestli se autorka nebála toho, že kdyby to dopadlo jinak, lidi by z toho nebyli tak v háji. nedokážu na to teď mít nějaký sjednocený názor.
ale to je jedno z největších plus u té knihy. že vlastně nevím, co si myslet. že musím přemýšlet, že nikdy asi nenajdu dobrou nebo špatnou odpověď.
.
proto hodnotím 3,5 a počítám s tím, že za pár let si to přečtu znovu. a třeba se můj pohled na mnoho věcí změní, a já tam pochopím mnohem víc věcí, které mi teď přijdou hloupé. a třeba ne.
jsem ráda, že jsem si knihu přečetla, nerozumím ale úplně tomu, že nikdo nemá podobné pocity, jako já. nebo aspoň ne tolik lidí.
.
edit 2: po zhlédnutí několika video esejí na tuto knihu jsem přesvědčena o tom, že autorka má nějakej fetiš popisovat queer postavy v utrpení. má to tak ve všech svých knihách. navíc v rozhovorech otevřeně říkala, že nevěří v terapii a že občas je lepší, když se člověk vzdá. tím u mě kniha klesla ještě víc. jude could've been saved. zabránila mu v tom však sama autorka, protože už od první strany věděla, jak chce, aby skončil. a nenechala mu prostor pro to, se vyléčit. a ty věci, co se mu staly, jsou fakt extrémně přetažený za vlasy. tam, kde jsem měla plakat, jsem se smála.
knize dávám 2,5 za snahu a za to, že se to četlo rychle, i když se tam skoro nic nedělo.

Kath

It took me almost 3 weeks (March 21–April 7, 2024) to finish this book. The author did an excellent job when it comes to making her readers visualize what's happening, which is why it becomes a painful read—really devastating. This book makes me feel so frustrated with the characters, especially Jude, during the time when Willem wanted him to be more vocal and honest about his thoughts and feelings. But then I will always go back to Jude's reasons for being so reserved. 
The story is about 4 men who became friends since they were in college and one of them—Jude—was SA since he was 8—by the brothers (and a priest) from the monastery—and was used many times by Brother Luke (and many other guys).
This novel made me cry halfway through the story and on the last few pages of the book. I would give this novel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I'd give it a five if the author spared at least either Willem or Jude from death 🥲. Overall, I loved the book, and I became so attached to the characters—Jude, Malcholm, JB, and Willem—that I'd want to give them a hug.

it has been 8 hours since i finished this book and i honestly feel numb. never in my life i ever cried over a book, but this book has sucessfully made me cry for an hour straight.

i think everyone would agree with me that the universe was extremely cruel towards Jude. he carried those pains, nightmares, and traumas for his whole life. even when he left a letter to Harold before he died, Harold was right, "he died thinking he owed us an apology". he spent all his life apologising for something he shouldn't take blame for. but i totally understand him, even though sometimes i felt annoyed by his behaviour; when he didn't want to seek for professional helps (i honestly felt bad for Andy at that moment) or when he acted like nothing happened, he said that he can do it by himself when in fact he really needed help. but, like i said before, i understand him. one thing i wish the most is i wish he knew how much people loved him. but.. the world was just so cruel to him so he couldn't feel that..

i also amazed by Willem's affection toward Jude. i mean, i'd never have that amount of capability to love someone so dearly. he could have leave Jude, but instead, he chose to stay until the end, which was wholesome.. maybe if he didn't leave too soon, maybe Jude would still there with him.. 

i'd like to read more about their friendship: Jude, Willem, Malcolm, and JB. i feel like the author didn't write much about them (before anyone comes at me, i know they've been mentioned multiple times, but i still want to read more about their stories together). 

to conclude, "A Little Life" is such an amazing book, it's so beautifully written despite how heart-wrenching it is. i definitely gave it as 5/5, but i don't recommend this book to anyone lol /jk. i mean, yes, this book is not for everyone. so please PLEASE be ware of the trigger warnings beforehand and read at your own risk. good luck!

it has been 8 hours since i finished this book and i honestly feel numb. never in my life i ever cried over a book, but this book has sucessfully made me cry for an hour straight.

i think everyone would agree with me that the universe was extremely cruel towards Jude. he carried those pains, nightmares, and traumas for his whole life. even when he left a letter to Harold before he died, Harold was right, "he died thinking he owed us an apology". he spent all his life apologising for something he shouldn't take blame for. but i totally understand him, even though sometimes i felt annoyed by his behaviour; when he didn't want to seek for professional helps (i honestly felt bad for Andy at that moment) or when he acted like nothing happened, he said that he can do it by himself when in fact he really needed help. but, like i said before, i understand him. one thing i wish the most is i wish he knew how much people loved him. but.. the world was just so cruel to him so he couldn't feel that..

i also amazed by Willem's affection toward Jude. i mean, i'd never have that amount of capability to love someone so dearly. he could have leave Jude, but instead, he chose to stay until the end, which was wholesome.. maybe if he didn't leave too soon, maybe Jude would still there with him.. 

i'd like to read more about their friendship: Jude, Willem, Malcolm, and JB. i feel like the author didn't write much about them (before anyone comes at me, i know they've been mentioned multiple times, but i still want to read more about their stories together). 

to conclude, "A Little Life" is such an amazing book, it's so beautifully written despite how heart-wrenching it is. i definitely gave it as 5/5, but i don't recommend this book to anyone lol /jk. i mean, yes, this book is not for everyone. so please PLEASE be ware of the trigger warnings beforehand and read at your own risk. good luck!

Mathieu Schwab

Left me sobbing uncontrollably on my bedroom floor for ten minutes. 10/10 would recommend.

Ainsley Jeffery

did i break this book, or did it break me?

"He experienced the singular pleasure of watching people he loved fall in love with other people he loved" (pp. 146)

I don't truly no how to summarize my afterthoughts of this book. Was it powerful, heartbreaking, incredibly intricate and well composed? Yes, I wouldn't have read it in a day, unable to put it down if not. But the long that goes on and I process it, the more uncomfortable I feel with it, it just doesn't sit right. Something about the continuous trauma dump, never achievable happy ending, and lack of some perspective beyond just the lives of the characters makes it so intriguing that I don't want to put it down but I can't grasp how it left me feeling.

A Little Life Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015

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