I would recommend this book only to those who can handle it and I would not suggest anyone under the age of 18 reading it. See A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara on Goodreads and purchase through Book Depository*.
What is the point of A Little Life?
It is a story about Jude's relationships and his impact on the people around him. It is a story about love and loss, of betrayal and friendship, of perseverance and giving in. And because it follows the story of such a broken, intense young man, it is a difficult read. It is a difficult read in more ways than one.
What is the message behind A Little Life?
A Little Life tells of the intimate friendships of four men as they journey from youthful obscurity to professional success and middle-aged prosperity. But the central character, Jude St. Francis—the novel's aptly named martyr, saint, and enigma—never gets to enjoy his meteoric path to wealth and esteem.Jun 3, 2016
What to know before reading A Little Life?
Anyone who wishes to read this book, please know that it contains a lot of disturbing things such as child abuse, sexual abuse, toxic relationships, self-mutilation, suicide, rape, drug addiction & violence.
Is A Little Life a LGBT book?
In The Atlantic, Garth Greenwell suggested that A Little Life is "the long-awaited gay novel", as "it engages with aesthetic modes long coded as queer: melodrama, sentimental fiction, grand opera.
What does the ending of A Little Life mean?
Jude finally breaks off the relationship after Caleb rapes him, and they meet a final time when Caleb follows him to dinner with Harold, humiliates him, and then follows Jude to his apartment, where he brutally beats and rapes him, leaving him for dead.
Why did Hanya write A Little Life?
I wanted there to be something too much about the violence in the book, but I also wanted there to be an exaggeration of everything, an exaggeration of love, of empathy, of pity, of horror. I wanted everything turned up a little too high. I wanted it to feel a little bit vulgar in places.
Why is the book called A Little Life?
A Little Life — the title mocks itself, given that the novel weighs in at an impressive 720 pages — follows the lives, over the course of several decades, of four men who first meet in college and who all move to New York City after graduation to pursue their careers.
Is it worth it to read A Little Life?
Anytime it is quiet, you risk a thought or emotion unplanned, but it is completely worth it. A Little Life isn't all sadness and gloom. The book is mostly about friendship and — eventually — love.
Is A Little Life the saddest book?
A Little Life was a hard read. Make no mistake, this is a good book but it is such a heavy book in terms of both themes and content. It is definitely up there in the most depressing and emotional book I've ever read as well as the most emotional read I've ever had.Jun 7, 2020