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A Little Life

Hanya Yanagihara

Start date: May 12, 2015

Finish date: June 30, 2015

Discussion: (Aug/Sept 2012) Canada

Why we're reading this: A Little Life was the winner of the May/June book of the month poll with 6 out of 15 votes.
[close] A Little Life was the winner of the May/June book of the month poll with 6 out of 15 votes.

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What Members Thought

Dec 22, 2014 Denise rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, arc, 2015-reading

This is one of the best books I have ever read in my life. And it is a story inhabited by characters I am not likely to ever forget. The story is one that sucks you in so entirely that you may not pay close attention to how artfully and perfectly it is written. If I were a writer in a make-believe life, I would want to be capable of writing a book like this.

This is an epic story about four talented guys who meet in college. They move to NYC after graduation and each eventually becomes a success ...more

29 likes · Like · see review

Jan 29, 2015 Amy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: from-publisher, arc-copy, fiction, all-time-favorite, _own-home-library, edelweis-netgalley_review, read-in-2015, busy-as-a-bee-books-group, rec-ig-blogs-friends-other, _own-ebook

I wish I could give 10 stars on Goodreads. This book deserves far more than just 5 stars! This book has flown up to the top of my ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS list! This one is definitely worthy of all of the hype it's received.

This is an amazing, searing, emotional, and devastating book. It's the kind of book that makes you sob. That tears at your heart and soul. That will stay with you. I read this over a month ago and I'm still thinking about it. The characters in this novel will stay with me for I wish I could give 10 stars on Goodreads. This book deserves far more than just 5 stars! This book has flown up to the top of my ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS list! This one is definitely worthy of all of the hype it's received.

This is an amazing, searing, emotional, and devastating book. It's the kind of book that makes you sob. That tears at your heart and soul. That will stay with you. I read this over a month ago and I'm still thinking about it. The characters in this novel will stay with me for some time.

The story centers around a man, Jude, and his friends in NY. It's about the relationships between these people and how they love and hurt one another over time. It's about friendship, survival, tragedy and healing. Jude is a man who has been hurt in unimaginable ways and how that hurt impacts his life, his friendships and his work. If you are uncomfortable reading about child abuse or the impact of that abuse on adults, this is not the book for you. It's very raw and dark and difficult. It's not for everyone. I don't find it to be gratuitous as it really helps you to better understand the characters and their journeys. But, I would only read this one if you think you can read difficult material. The content can be, at times, very brutal. Be forewarned.

This was particularly impactful to me because I spent almost 10 years counseling domestic violence and sexual abuse survivors and this story is VERY close to the abuse one of the women that I counseled for years endured over her lifetime. This book did an amazing job of capturing what it's like to live through something so horrible as well as to care about someone who is trying to live with the lifelong affects of such abuse. I've heard folks complain that its not realistic to have endured what the character in this story does but if my work with abuse victims is any indication, I can tell you that some people do horrible things to other people - unimaginable things. And you'd be surprised how often and how much abuse victims are victimized in their lifetimes.

The characters in this novel will stay with me for some time. They are beautifully written, extremely real and just jump off the page. I came to care (and sometimes hate) them so much more than I would have expected. There were passages in this novel that literally took my breath away, made me think about things in new ways and just simply impacted me deeply. I kept re-reading some of them over and over again because they just perfectly stated something in a way that just overwhelmed me. This is one that I will re-read regularly. It's such a beautiful piece of writing and a story that just tore me up. In the way that the best novels tear you up.

I can't recommend this one highly enough. It's a truly amazing novel that just killed me ... I feel almost sad that I've finished it and will never read it again for the first time. It's difficult, heartbreaking, touching, beautiful and evocative! So worth reading ... ...more

27 likes · Like · see review

Oct 08, 2014 Lisa Roberts rated it really liked it

Shelves: state, i-own, botns-ann, tourny-of-books-2016

A well written and heartbreaking story of four friends who meet in college. The story follows them for many years past college. Oh gosh, I can't write a review of this book. It is heartbreaking and anything I say will be saying to much and too little. My heart is in my throat. Harold and Willem and Jude, those names mean so much but I really don't want to say anything about them, but my heart reaches out to them. Abuse is the underlying story but the emotions that come along with the abuse and i ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Dec 11, 2014 Gayla Bassham rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, 2015-reads, 2016-tournament-of-books-longlist, 2015-nba-longlist, 2015-booker-prize, 2016-bailey-s-prize-longlist, 2016-tournament-of-books

I had a love/hate relationship with this book.

On the one hand, I couldn't put it down, loved the characters, and really felt like I was part of the world of the book while I was reading it.

On the other hand, it was too long, too implausible, and oddly structured. The sheer amount of abuse and violence heaped on one character was overwhelming and ultimately tiresome. And although I'm not sure this is a fair criticism, Yanagihara's total lack of interest in the few female characters in the book re ...more

4 likes · Like · see review