Book 30 - A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Reading date - October 2020

This may be the longest review I have written on here..this is definitely the longest book I have read in a long time, coming in at over 700 pages.  The last book I read that was this size was Shantaram and that was years ago.  Non-fiction wise, it was The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan and I read that last year but it seems like it was many years ago now.

I originally bought this on kindle but I fell in love with the writing style so had to and buy a physical copy.  This is the kind of book I wish I had the ability to write myself.  The author is amazing with the way she writes, this is how all authors should write.

Let me start by saying that no description I ever write of this book will do justice to the masterpiece that it is.  This is simultaneously the most depressing and uplifting book I have ever read.  If you are of a nervous disposition or are triggered easily then do not read this as it will destroy you.  I am a strong willed, blackhearted person and it left me broken. 

The book is beautiful in a such a shocking, no holes barred way.  It plumbs to the depths of human depravity and spares nothing in the explanations.  Sometimes it got so much for me that I sped read my way through these just to get to something else.  

I love everything about this book.  The book is about four friends who go to college in Boston together and then move to the Big Apple together.  Each obtains success in their own way the book tracks them from when they have no money to when they make it big but this is such a minor detail.  I say it is a minor detail but anyone who reads it and sees what is going on knows that they are all minted as they're all constantly buying up expensive real estate and having it done up by award winning architects.  I think the reason this is mentioned is to show the reader that no matter how much money you may have, there are some things that money can never ever provide a shield against: illness, death.

The four friends are Jude, Willem, JB and Malcolm.  Malcolm is very rich and his parents own a massive house in NY.  They allow JB and Jude to stay with them when they are broke.  JB is loved so hard by his mum that she cannot see him do anything wrong.  He is treated like the king in his house.  Willem is an orphan and alone in the world as is Jude.  

The bulk of the story centres around Jude.  Jude is written as the most damaged person I have ever read about in literature. He has the worst possible childhood imaginable (no spoilers as to what it is but prepare yourself for it) and spends his adult life trying to live as a well adjusted member of society.  I try to write my reviews before reading any other reviews as I can cast my own criticisms on things without being influenced but one review I accidentally saw said something like "how can Jude be perfect at everything", when did he have the chance to learn it? That resonated with me.  He only broke free around his late teens and he manages to be an expert at everything.

Each backstory and current story is beautifully written and the character development is on point.  If I could, I would take myself off to a log cabin somewhere it was snowing, with a fire and I would just read this book.  I would also happily read it somewhere sunny, but not too hot.  

You only find out last names as the book  progresses, it’s very authentic and organic and I like that. You feel like you are embedded deep in their lives individually and as a friendship group. The chapters are pretty much chapters of their lives so they need to be big.

This is a world class lesson in storytelling and how to develop characters.  I seldom cry at books, the only book that has made me cry is one that had a profound effect on me and that is To Kill A Mockingbird, I became a lawyer because of that book and it’s moulded my attitude to an extent.  

At 1.05 am on Saturday 24 October, that changed. I sat, hurtling towards the end of a chapter in this book and found myself in floods of happy tears. The character arc was beautiful and the end result was something so deserved for someone so delicate. The characters at this section are the most wholesome people you could ever meet, the people that see the good in everyone.  SPOILER: This wasn't to be the only time this book made me cry, although later it was for different reasons. 

My favourite character in this book is not one of the four friends but someone who starts on the periphery..and becomes more and more involved.  The way the author has written the love this person has for another character blows my mind.  I think she has created, to me, the ideal person.  It's like she has managed to encapsulate the love a father has for their child perfectly.  Part of the reason is why I like this character so much is because he reminds me of my own dad, a man in whose eyes, I am perfect.  

One of my favourite sections in this book (in a book where all sections are my favourite) is a section which describes how a marriage breaks down and how lives which were so entwined can break up and become totally different. How life was one way and it was solid and then it totally changes and becomes something else.

The descriptions of NY are perfect, it starts in Lispenard Street back when it was un-gentrified.  It is a strange book in that you cannot determine what time frame it was set in, they have the internet and they have phones but there is no mention of any external event

There are twists and turns but as you are so involved in the book, you don't see these are twists, they are just the way that friendship changes.

This book has not only managed to break my heart but one story arc has angered me greatly.  I have been allowed the luxury of getting lost in it, the 30 minute timeframes I gave myself were totally not adhered to.

This book is in places hard to read because it is harrowing in its detail about the abuse one of the characters suffers.  It was so strong that I rushed to get past these sections of the book and for ages afterwards, I was silent as it was playing heavily on my mind.

It reminds you how delicate human life is and how things can, and do go wrong.  The people in the book go through life amassing great success and wealth and still, the one thing they cannot escape is how cruel life can be.

This is a sad book, there are fleeting bits of happiness but it is essentially a book about how life is and how cruel twists of fate can be.  You need to be in a very good place mentally to read this book.  I have struggled with bits of it because it has made me greatly upset. (I know I'm repeating myself)

One quote from the book says "books lied...books made things prettier".  This book definitely does not make things pretty.  It is a gut-wrenching book I could not put down until I had to work.  And when I was working, I kept thinking about the characters.

I always joke and say things like there "there was me before I had X and there is me after I had X" but that solidly applies to this book.  It has changed the way I see things and has made me a lot more reflective.  I have been telling people I love them a lot more than I usually do and it's due to this book.  I am very selective about the books I buy these days and this is one that I will happily buy in different editions..this is usually an honour only reserved for the works of Oscar Wilde (I have four versions of my favourite OW work..the Picture of Dorian Gray)

This book would make an amazing (albeit very long) film.  It is in essence, a modern day romance love story..totally not Hollywood at all.  It describes the roles of friendship and relationships perfectly. 

I have learnt so many new words from this book and it's not often I get that from works of fiction.

Star rating for this book is FIVE STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!!!!!