A little life is a lot painful to say the least. I went into this book knowing that this was going to hurt, and boy did it. I finished this book a little bit ago and not a day goes by that I don't think about this story or its characters. HUGE trigger warning to basically everything, I will list them all at the end of this post so you can decide for yourself if you are okay with reading those topics.
Synopsis: This is a story following four characters: Willem, JB, Jude and Malcolm when they meet in college and form friendships. We follow those relationships ebbing and flowing, through their life as we read about them through their mid forties and learn about their troubling pasts.
Plot: The plot is a rather simple one and this story is definitely a character study during its long 720 pages. However, we read the most beautiful, harrowing and heartbreaking stories in those pages. This is not a read for the lighthearted and you will leave this story being broken. I had to take several breaks from reading simply because of how hard this story hits you. Many people describe this novel as "torture porn" and I can totally understand that. Yanagihara spends the first 250 pages making you fall in love with these characters to then spend the remainder of the novel breaking them down and making you hurt. Not easy to read at all, but if you can, it is beautiful and the writing is incredible. I do think it is a tad bit long, 700 pages is very intimidating, but I still wasn't ready for it to come to an end.
Characters: Like I mentioned, this novel is definitely a character study. Each chapter switches perspectives between the boys as we learn more and more about each character. The chapters jump back and forth between youth and adulthood. This can be confusing at times, and make you wonder where present day is, but the time jumps are needed to learn the whole background of each character. And we learn it all. I feel as though I know these characters inside and out. Jude is the most focused on of the 4 boys and his storyline is the most trauma ridden and dark story I have ever read. As troubling as it is to read, there is something so raw and real about these characters lives. Yanagihara omits absolutely nothing, so addiction and loss and abuse are all covered and with nothing held back. The novel is also really refreshing in its depictions of race and gender and sexual orientation.
I read this book wanting to cover my eyes. It is a hard one and one that will haunt me for a long time...but I already want to reread it. The writing is absolutely beautiful and although I could never recommend anyone to pick this up, simply because of what it covers, I think it is well worth the time it took to read. Just be ready to cry.
4/5 stars.
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, pedophilia, ptsd, forced prostitution of a minor.
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