A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
A Little Life is an epic story of four men, Jude, Willem, J.B. and Malcolm; who meet in college and become lifelong friends. The book starts out giving point-of-views from each of the main characters but veers away from this as you get further in. In the end, I really felt that Malcolm got the short shrift on this. It ultimately focuses on the life of Jude St. Francis and how his childhood experiences affected him throughout his life.
My emotions during this read were all over the place. It is gut-wrenching, beautiful and ghastly. Because the book touches on childhood trauma and abuse, it’s a long read and not always an easy one. At times I had to put the book down and regroup for the next reading session. I was very touched by the level of friendship and love that the main characters and their family members had for each other. Ultimately this extraordinary story of love and pain will not easily leave you.
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