What reading a Little Life can teach us about the power of friendship when dealing with trauma
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2015, we're revisiting A Little Life as our March Book of the Month
Throughout March, we’ve been celebrating our first Book of the Month - Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life, an intense and deeply moving depiction of heartbreak that explores the limits of human endurance and the power of friendship.
Award-winning singer-songwriter Dua Lipa talked to us about ‘Hanya Yanagihara’s decision to pay homage to the purity of friendship’ which made the book ‘emotionally powerful’. She said it shows ‘it is the love inherent in friendship that saves us again and again’.
‘Bookerworm’ Bob Jackson, who has read every book ever shortlisted for the Booker Prize, described how Jude ‘penetrated my psyche and lodged there’ and told us how the character made a ‘deep, meaningful and lasting impression’ on him.
Sarah Gwoynoma, who posts on Instagram as @WhatSarahReadNext, read the book in the midst of a personal loss, and said ‘there is something to be said for reading about other people’s pain when you’re drowning in your own. It makes you feel less alone’.
Whether good or bad, each reader of A Litte Life is left deeply moved by the novel. What did you think of Yanagihara’s depiction of Jude and the strength of those around him, was it true to life? How did it make you feel, and have you ever experienced similar? We’d love to hear about the moments from the book that affected you - those that kept you up late at night. Let us know in the comments below.
A Little Life is far and away my favourite book ever. It is a moving and poignant portrayal of trauma. The characters feel real and grounded. They are flawed in ways that let their humanity shine through. For me the depiction of friendship is so powerful and real. No matter how much the boys live Jude, that alone is not enough to save him - only he can do that. It is a hard book in that there is no obvious happy ending, even if it is so deserved. But that is what’s so powerful to me. Sometimes there isn’t a rainbow after the storm, sometimes you can’t outrun the storm, but the love of your friends can be a enough to weather that storm with grace and joy.
A Little Life continues to haunt me long after reading it. It must surely count amongst my top ten books ever.