I like to think of myself as an avid reader. Each year, I run to Goodreads and set my yearly reading goal. Since the beginning of 2026, I have read 16 books and I feel like I’m just getting started. Taking that into consideration, I know my way around bookshelves. It takes a lot out of a book to elicit a five star rating from me. One book I read recently achieved this, but it is not something I will ever go out of my way and suggest that someone pick up.
The book in question is called “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara. This novel came into my mind the way most books do nowadays, which is through social media. I was seeing it everywhere over the past couple of years, but the videos and photos that accompanied the book weren’t of happy faces. I saw people bawling their eyes out and decided I needed to see what could possibly bring up so many feelings.
If I’m being honest, I thought most videos of this book were largely exaggerated. I can safely say I wish I was wrong.
Without getting into too many spoilers, “A Little Life” follows four friends as they navigate their early adulthood in New York, paying special attention to one character named Jude. All of these friends have different career paths and find success in their own ways, but Jude’s story is hauntingly shocking to get through. Jude’s past trauma is slowly revealed throughout the book and consequentially plagues the narrative of the present.
Before reading the novel, I went in completely blind. I had no idea what the story was about, who the author is, or what left people utterly devastated. I think I was ok reading through without knowing a whole lot, but I worry about what this book has the potential to do to other people.
“A Little Life” dives deep into very serious topics that I feel responsible to mention. Some trigger warnings for the book include: self-harm, suicide, sexual violence, physical and emotional abuse, addiction, childhood trauma, and medical trauma. Some of these are more evident than others throughout the pages, but they should not be taken lightly.
I believed that I had become so desensitized to graphic content that nothing much could get to me anymore. I didn’t think I would be so affected by what I read, both mentally and physically. Because I like to picture books in my head as a movie while I read, it took a long time to ‘unsee’ what I read. Some sections made me physically take a break from the book all together.
What the protagonist endured by the author made me question the ethical grounds of the book all together. The sheer volume of tragedies that Jude suffered through, and at the magnitude of which they happened, could be described as nothing short of disturbing. It makes me wonder if the author tried to throw everything devastating into one person, one life.
This book breaks from the traditional style of literature. Everyone is familiar with the classic plot structure of a book. There is a beginning, a middle and an end. The ending is typically happy to bring closure or satisfaction to the reader. “A Little Life” breaks from this structure. It is not a normal redemption story; the last few pages don’t make you smile.
So, how did this book reach my five star status? Why not just throw it in a hole and forget that it exists? My thought process is a little stretched for this novel. I hold so much respect for the craft and writing the author put in.
This book is a brilliant piece of literature. It forces the reader to feel every emotion, some they may not know they carry. At times, “A Little Life” can only be described as hatefully sad. You become so connected and engrossed by the characters that what occurs between the pages are soulfully devastating.
It’s easy to say that we loved a certain character from a book, but Jude is heartbreakingly special. I wanted so much for him, and I wanted him to get everything out of the life he had. I can’t say he got everything I personally wanted for him, and I am still tormented knowing everything he was put through along the way. His character so thoroughly broke my heart simply because I became so attached to him.
“A Little Life” defines what it means to be human. The concept of forgiveness is crucial in the novel. Specifically, forgiveness of oneself. When is it acceptable to let go of the past we had no control over? Do we deserve the kind of love we have always fantasized about? Why do we hold on to moments, people and events that cause us nothing but pain? Is there a world where everything will actually be alright?
The book is set up in a way that you grow up with the characters. You watch them make questionable decisions, but that is just what life is. Life is full of beautiful tragedies, and it’s the memories you make with those you love that truly matters. It’s about learning to accept and forgive yourself before you waste time away trying to erase things that weren’t your fault.
I believe this book is one I will never be able to revisit. I don’t think I can handle being stripped down like I was while reading this. It will remain as one of the greatest and most sincere works of fiction I have ever read.
If you want to approach this book, I implore you to make sure you are in the right headspace first. This book is not light, and does not attempt to be anything but what it is: raw, real and painful.
I still don’t think I can formulate the right words to express my feelings towards this book, and maybe I never will. Maybe that’s the point.
“It had always seemed to him a very plush kind of problem, a privilege, really, to consider whether life was meaningful or not.”
― Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life