A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara – Book Review: To read or not to read, that is the question.

I don’t know how to put into words the many things I want to say about this book.

Did I like this book? Would I recommend it? Did I enjoy it? Did I like the characters?.. It’s hard for me to definitively answer these questions, however what I can say is that there were moments I liked, a handful of characters that I liked getting to know, but what I was most struck by was Hanya Yanagihara herself, her writing, the amount of thought that must have gone into crafting this story and also just the sheer level of ambition to even want to write a story of this magnitude, especially considering the themes and subject matter explored throughout this novel.

“Wasn’t friendship its own miracle, the finding of another person who made the entire lonely world seem somehow less lonely?”

For me, what really drove this story were the characters, and despite it taking maybe five tries before I could really settle into the lives of Jude, Willem, Malcom and JB, I found myself, with every chapter, wanting to know everything about them and liked how Yanagihara gradually revealed each of their stories. With that being said, this story is not a page turner. It really does ask you – almost requires you to take the time to get to know these characters, and once you’re in, (and were like me who found themselves first thing each morning reaching to read this book and then curling up each night to read more) you’re locked in! And you will as a result end up experiencing almost every single human emotion there is: the good, the beautiful, the bad, the ugly and the absolute worst.

It’s been over a month since I finished reading A Little Life and i’m still thinking about Jude. I don’t ever think I’ll stop thinking about him every time I start a new book. I’m still thinking about JB and wishing there was more I could know about him. I’m still thinking about Willem and Malcom and Harold and Anna and Andy and the important roles they played throughout the novel and what they represent.

Overall, I can’t say that I really learned anything new reading A Little Life. It does however, take you on a sometimes gratuitous emotional rollercoaster, with Yanagihara barely allowing a moment of respite – a criticism I’ve seen online and agree with, especially after you’ve read this book (literally) cover to cover.

If you want to read a book that will make you feel, leave you wondering about the lives of people you know and strangers alike – and the stories they might be carrying, then this is the book to read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5