Any one else read/reading A Little Life

[minifingerz]

... by Hanya Yanagihara?

Two thirds of the way through the 700 odd pages of it and both loving it but worrying about where it's going.

What a depressing book! I wished the other characters were used more but really it was all about Jude. I hated him by the end.

I really enjoyed it although 'enjoyed' is possibly not the right word. It was completely absorbing but pretty bleak.

I just read this recently - yes, I did think it was quite a sad book but I enjoyed it! But I didn't find it that depressing to read, oddly, unlike A God In Ruins which I'm currently really struggling with as it's just so gloomy.

I've got it on my Kindle, but haven't read it yet.

Everyone I know that's read it raves about it.

I have it in my soon tbr pile. Quite looking forward to getting stuck into a long book for Autumn :)

Loved A God in Ruins.

I love very long books with damaged characters.

I loved A God In Ruins too :)

I have recently finished A Little Life and A God in Ruins and would be delighted to discuss either Don't want to accidentally post spoilers though. I felt rather bereft when I finished A Little Life, it had taken me two months to slowly plough through and I still miss the characters and think about them at odd moments - almost like they are real people I have known.

I've read A Little Life - it's a great book. Looks like I'll have to go buy A God In Ruins............

Yes, I read it this time last year and loved it.

I found it totally absorbing too couldn't put it down but loved it and hated it in equal measure. I found the over successful characters a bit odd and jarring.

They were rather over successful weren't they. And they stayed in touch very well for such a long time.

I've recently read this and thought it was very good, the characters have really stayed with me and I felt bereft when I finished it.

It's meant to be about Harvard grads in the rarified and insular world of New York. Quite often, there are fewer than six degrees of separation there, especially for childless folk. I like the way the book slowly reveals Jude's past. The last part is heartbreaking, worse than On the Beach.

"I like the way the book slowly reveals Jude's past. The last part is heartbreaking, worse than On the Beach"

I'm now 3/4 of the way through. Have found out about how his leg and back injuries occurred, and Jude is in recovery from his amputation. Please don't let it get any sadder.

I love Willem.

I thought it was an utter load of old toilet, a novel with NO research.
All that stuff that was supposed to have happened to Jude was just rubbish.
I have no respect for a novelist who actually admits to doing zero research.

I'm afraid it does get sadder, op. Best get the tissues ready.

Just finished it. (Audio book so have got through it very fast).

I've actually gone out and bought a packet of high strength St John's Wort and taken one. The book has made me feel really sad.

It's fundamentally an epic exploration of emotional and physical suffering, friendship, love, and the inability of friendship and love to cure some kinds of damage, namely that inflicted in childhood.

I'll make a donation to the NSPCC and try to find something cheerful to read next. Any suggestions?

"All that stuff that was supposed to have happened to Jude was just rubbish."

Sadly, severe and prolonged sexual and physical abuse is something that some children in the care system have experienced.

I read it a while ago .I thought it was very good though I'm not entirely sure I could say I enjoyed it. I found a few of the things in it slightly unrealistic but I read it in such a short space of time that I clearly found it unputdownable.

Cheerful books? I read A Man called Ove after a recommendation on here. There are some sad bits but in general It was a nice book and quite funny as well.

Yes, I loved A Little Life. It has stayed with me, and I finished it months ago. It took a couple of weeks for the sense of melancholy to go after I'd finished it. Beautifully written, and so rare to read a book about enduring male friendships.

I came across this blog from the Picador publishers website about A Little Life - it links photos and locations to the novel.

Link here

I started it a dew months ago. Got a couple of hundreds of pages in and took a break, with the intention of going back to it. Don't know if I will.

Loved Willem.

I read it a year ago and have just finished re-reading it. I absolutely loved it.

At first I thought the pace was too slow, but by the end I was in tears and actually sobbing. I don't care that it's incredibly manipulative, it was beautifully written and I found it very thoughtful as well as thought provoking.

She wrote about grief, in its many manifestations, so touchingly. I thought it an incredible book.

The second reading for me, was just as emotional (I had to wait several months to pluck up the courage to approach it again) and I found more details that I missed the first time around. I could savour the characters more but it was just as heart breaking. Despite it being a long book, I still want more of the characters.

Unfortunately I went and read her first book and found that a disappointment. Hopefully her third will be equally impressive though, I will definitely try her work again after A Little Life.

Sounds like I should try A God In Ruins. Has anyone read Wally Lamb's "I know this much is true"? A book of similar depth and feel to A Little Life I think.

Cream that's interesting that you've re-read it. As soon as I finished I thought I'd never read it again but like you said I'm sure I've missed things the first time round. I may reconsider.