Book Review: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

I didn't cry, but I couldn't put it down. Perhaps that says more about me than the book? Is A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara just misery porn, or is it art?

The front cover of A Little Life is a warning

Warning: This book is a brutal, heavy, uncomfortable read with huge trigger warnings.

I was asked to review this book. It seems as if nearly all readers have heard of A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara and are in one of two camps: "Oh, I have to read that!" or "Ugh, heck no, I ain't reading that." When I heard that this book shattered people and was labelled as 'misery porn', I was in the first camp. Call me a sadist, call me curious, call me whatever you like. I love end-of-the-world movies. Melancholia is one of my favourites because it reminds me of how blessed I am, how awesome it is that I am alive, loved, in love, and a long list of many other very good things. This book made me feel the same. It reminded me of how lucky I am and how much worse life is for so many other people.

Although the message was heavy and brutal, the message was also one of love and connection.

The story follows the lives of four friends: Malcolm, JB, Willem, and Jude. It travels with them through life, from young-adult friendship, to feuds and fallouts, addictions, poverty, wealth, health battles, jobs, relationships, and all the things that life brings.

But, the story centres around Jude, who is truly a very broken person.

Yes, A Little Life is about suffering and trauma, but it is not for trauma consumption as much as it is about understanding the consequences of trauma (poor mental health/PTSD). 'Misery porn' makes it sound like the reader derives pleasure from reading about other people's misfortunes, and that is not the case. This is a heavy, uncomfortable read, and there is very little pleasure in reading it. Every time I opened the book, I did so with clenched abdominal muscles.

But that is not the point.

I loved this book because it was interesting, it gave me insight, the characters were well-written, and because it made me grateful for my life.

This story should not be well-known because it makes people cry and feel uncomfortable (and it does); it should be well-known because it reminds those of us who live warm, comfortable, reasonably happy lives that other people suffer. Truly suffer. And it gives insight into how hard it is for someone with real trauma to try to integrate/assimilate and attempt to fit into a 'normal' life, even if it is a work of fiction.

I want to talk about the ending, but I can't. There are no spoilers here.

This book WILL haunt you

This book is about friendship, suffering, and the effects of trauma. It should carry every sort of warning that a book can carry. It includes reoccurring and gut-churning descriptions of all sorts of abuse (including child abuse), rape, and self harm, not just allusions to, but detailed descriptions of. This book is not fun. This book is uncomfortable, but if all you're looking at is the suffering, then all you will see is the suffering. Wound between the pain, are threads of hope and warmth. Jude is broken, but there are people who are trying to hold him together. Jude is damaged, but Jude is loved. Good things do happen to Jude, but Jude remains broken.

This story is real. I mean, it's fiction, and written to provoke, but there is no sunshine and rainbows in A Little Life, and that is what life is like for some people. I understand readers who feel like this book is just about inflicting as much suffering as possible on one person. It is. But art is about stretching boundaries and evoking emotional responses. Art is about making people think and feel. Some art is meant to be beautiful, and some is not. A Little Life is not, but it is an exquisite piece of art, not for the faint-hearted.

Of course, if you're not into art created with human waste, then don't attend the exhibition.

Love Marley x