Are You Emotionally Strong Enough? "A Little Life" Reviewed by Parizoda Axrorqulova ('24)

You won't come across many novels like this. Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life explores friendship, relationships, and parenthood. I chose to read this book because it was emotional and agonizing, and I ended up falling in love with the main character, Jude's, misery. Through her exquisite writing abilities, the author does an excellent job of conveying continuous unending pain. It discusses in full how trauma and abuse may impact every part of a person's life. Every time I turned a page, I couldn't help but wonder, "How is the author going to hurt the characters in this section?" I suggest this book to everyone who is emotionally strong enough to endure the pain. And I'll leave you with a quote from the book that applies to all of us:

“Things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize that no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.”