Note to reader: This will be a spoiler-free review. The aim of this article is to explore the prose, themes and discussion surrounding the novel.
Writter by Maria Henry
If there is one word that I would use to describe A Little Life, it is ‘unrelenting’. This is part of what makes it infuriating; the consistent leaks of hope shining in through the narrative that are quickly dashed when reality plays its part and sends our beloved characters back into the darkness. But, this very same thing is also what makes it one of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever read. It is a testament to real life that doesn’t shy away from the bad, or even grotesque parts of a very human experience. It is filled with love and longing, survival and suffering.
There are so many small moments of magic in this novel. There is the soft, sweetness of every day that is then juxtaposed with the brutal cruelty and honesty of the bigger picture. You should not enter this novel expecting that things will get better as the narrative continues, but rather, you should savor the small, shining moments of goodness. I think in many ways Hanya Yanagihara makes you do this with her prose. The paragraphs are often long, and the sentences often run on, so when there comes a moment that you really have to stop and digest something that has happened, you notice it and you value it. Like the taste of coffee on breath, it lingers (and once you read the novel, you will understand this reference in all its painful beauty).
The heart of this story lies with the characters, and Yanagihara's exploration of male friendships, love and relationships. The story opens with our central four characters, they are all recent university graduates living in New York City at the start of the novel and it follows them over the next few decades of their lives.
There is Willem, an aspiring actor with a heart of pure gold and a charming personality that jumps off the page and forces you to adore him. Willem is a stand out character throughout the novel, as no matter how bad things get within the narrative, you are never disappointed by his actions. He is a very rational, and very kind character—and I think in a world in which characters and their relationships are often exploited for shock value and unnecessary drama, Willem’s loving approach to working on relationships and obstacles is a breath of much needed fresh air. His love for Jude, which I will try not to spoil here, is also one of the most exquisite and admirable loves I have had the pleasure of reading.
There is Malcolm, a young, kind, mixed-race boy who struggles to define his own identity under the weight of his wealthy father's lofty expectations. Malcolm grows as a character throughout the novel as he finds happiness and security in himself and his career, at first as a reader you are almost as confused by him as he is by himself (who is he? What are his passions? What does he actually want to do?) and that’s the magic of this writing at work—you’ll find him as he finds himself.
There is then JB. JB is an artist, he is passionate and he loves so strongly that sometimes it becomes his weakness. What JB struggles most with is control, and we see this get the best of him throughout the novel as he turns to drugs, sex and other self-destructive actions. His art forms a tether that we see pull him back throughout the narrative—his paintings become a way of showing the reader, and his friends, how he really feels when words fail him. He is an enigmatic character, he is at times full of joy and humor, but, he is also perhaps the one that breaks your heart the most.
The main character in this novel is Jude. Jude is clever, kind, possesses a very strange sense of simultaneous optimism and pessimism, and values the people in his life more than anything else, including himself. This lack of self-assurance is Jude’s fatal flaw throughout the story—he struggles with his worsening health, debilitating illnesses, and feelings of severe self-loathing because of his mysterious past (which is revealed as we enter the second part of the novel). There are a million things that I could write about this character; he embodies the brilliance, the sadness, and the catastrophe of a Shakespearean tragedy—and you love him for it, even when it kills you. His friends adore him, and as a reader, you see why. There are a few characters that I have fallen in love with like I have Jude, there is something so exquisitely likable about him. Jude’s story is mainly one that discusses grief—there is grief for ‘what could have been’, there is grief for what is, and there is even a sense of grief for what will be. You are always somewhat on a cliff's edge with Jude, fearing the next moment, and just wanting to hold on to a little more time together before catastrophe inevitably strikes.
Now, I could not end this review without noting some of the criticism the novel has recently received for its graphic nature. There are many aspects of this novel that are potentially triggering, so I agree strongly with other reviewers who have said that you should look into this prior to reading. However, I disagree that this novel is using explorations of mental health in any sort of exploitative way. Though agonizing to read some of the details in this novel, there was not a moment in which I thought this couldn’t happen. It was almost too real to me, and that’s why I adore it—it has an irresistibly raw approach to confronting some of the worst things a person can experience, and I think there is a place in literature for these topics—in fact, they deserve a place to be explored.
It is unusual, I think, especially in modern literature outside of the horror genre (when yes, they are most likely used for shock value) for these things to be explored so outrightly, and that very well could be jarring to someone who has discovered this novel as a TikTik recommend without having been prepared to read it, and without usually consuming this type of content. But from my perspective, it’s not exploitative or sensationalistic, it’s just real and it’s raw, and it’s often ugly—but that’s reality. It’s not always what you want, it’s not always what you expect, but it is what it is, and, to quote Jude: It’s a good story.
Written by Maria Henry,
@Mariawriteshere on Instagram.
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