A Little Life
The million-copy bestseller, shortlisted for the Booker Prize
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4.6 • 809 Ratings
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
Over one million copies sold
Too many broken hearts to count
‘A book unlike any other’ – The Guardian
‘This novel challenged everything I thought I knew about love and friendship’ – Dua Lipa
The million-copy bestseller, Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life is an immensely powerful and heartbreaking novel of brotherly love and the limits of human endurance.
JB, Jude, Malcolm and Willem.
Four young men move to New York broke, adrift and buoyed only by friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem; the sardonic painter JB; Malcolm, a frustrated architect; and Jude, brilliant and enigmatic – their centre of gravity.
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize
Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize
Winner of Fiction of the Year at the British Book Awards
Finalist for the US National Book Award for Fiction
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A Little Life will stun you and break your heart. After graduating from an elite university, four young men navigate the ambitions and distractions of life in New York City. Hanya Yanagihara slowly fills out the outlines of her characters: Malcolm, JB, Willem and Jude; and the effect is like watching a gifted painter toil over a complicated canvas. As this dense novel zeroes in on Jude and his horrific upbringing, we experience an overwhelming desire to step into the story and comfort the brilliant, quietly suffering lawyer, to counteract the unfathomable cruelties he’s endured. That’s how lifelike this novel is, and how exceptionally powerful.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Yanagihara follows her 2013 debut novel, The People in the Trees, with an epic American tragedy. The story begins with four college friends moving to New York City to begin their careers: architect Malcolm, artist JB, actor Willem, and lawyer Jude. Early on, their concerns are money and job related as they try to find footholds in their respective fields. Over the course of the book, which spans three decades, we witness their highs and lows as they face addiction, deception, and abuse, and their relationships falter and strengthen. The focus narrows as the story unspools and really, this is Jude's story. Unlike his friends, who have largely ordinary lives, Jude has a horrific trauma in his past, and his inner demons are central to the story. Throughout the years, Jude struggles to keep his terrible childhood secret and to trust those who love him. He cuts himself and contemplates suicide, even as his career flourishes and his friends support him. This is a novel that values the everyday over the extraordinary, the push and pull of human relationships and the book's effect is cumulative. There is real pleasure in following characters over such a long period, as they react to setbacks and successes, and, in some cases, change. By the time the characters reach their 50s and the story arrives at its moving conclusion, readers will be attached and find them very hard to forget.
Customer Reviews
What a brilliant read
I was taken through all emotions reading this book. Mostly sadness and just an impulse to reach into the book and give Jude and everyone the biggest hug and say whatever was right for all the pain to go away. Harold and Julia have got to be the greatest humans in this universe.
I think the writing is so beautiful. I was drawn in right away. Oh my heart….
Best book I’ve ever read
The beginning dragged in but by the end I couldn’t put it down. The book is so real and raw. I’ve never read a book that has felt alive
Too long
The story overall is okay. The main character’s life is weaved throughout the book but by his later years, I found I didn’t like him enough to connect and therefore didn’t care for him at the end. The theme is very depressing and the author is way too descriptive about minor characters backstories and describes mundane objects in detail which takes the focus away from the story. I switched off quite a lot and missed nothing. It’s too long for me to recommend unfortunately.