2015 – “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara

This is not a short book and it is not an easy book but A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara is a beautifully written book that is gruelling and moving at the same time. I did find that I couldn’t read too much at once and I that had occasionally to switch to a lighter novel for a while but that is testimony to the emotions and feelings that the author evokes in the reader.

Four recent graduates, all men, move to New York together and start their careers. They are a lawyer, an architect, an artist and an aspiring actor. They all have different backgrounds but they are drawn together by their friendship and the book follows them through the years until each has succeeded in their chosen field.

The book starts by concentrating on each man in turn and following events in their life as well as introducing us to their past and family. Occasionally we have sections written in the first person by Harold who is a mentor and adopted father of Jude, one of the four, and sometimes the author shows us the point of view of another character who is important to the plot. Eventually, however, the book concentrates the majority of its narrative on Jude St Francis who has a traumatic past which he mostly keeps hidden from his friends.

Jude is a deeply damaged man, both physically and mentally. He lives always with the consequences of what has been done to him when he was a child – because of this storyline this book may be a problem for people who have been sexually or physically abused, although the book is not explicit. Jude lives with a sense of self-loathing and a feeling that if others see his damaged body or hear his past experiences that they will no longer want to be with him. He values every relationship that he has but never feels that he is worthy of love. He self-harms and that may also be an issue for some readers.

This book is a character study of one man and it slowly shows the reader how past experiences can affect the present and inhibit the development of relationships. Jude is talented, much loved and successful but none of these things seem to be able to overcome the issues arising from his past abuse. Sometimes love isn’t enough and it can’t conquer all.

It is difficult to describe the journey that the author takes the reader on during this story. She slowly reveals what has happened to Jude and then shows how this affects him in everything that he does. The book is filled with detail about the lives of the four men and we see how they develop and change as the years go on. It seems like this should be boring content but it is, in fact, absolutely captivating.

This is a book that I will not quickly forget. It gave me a lot to think about and plenty to cry about in places. It is exquisitely written with every page adding to the story and taking us one step further. I have never read a book like this and although the content is challenging on occasion I am so glad that I experienced it. This is great writing.