A Little Life

Every once in awhile I'll read a book where I don't really understand the praise it has received. Typically even if I think a book's not for me, I can understand why it's well regarded. This is a case though where I don't get it. The prose is nice albeit long winded at times and I feel like Yanagihara has done a decent job capturing some of the behaviors that may be exhibited by people who have been abused. Some of the content is for sure heartbreaking and even I shed some tears.

Yet, I dislike this book considerably because of how sensationalist it is. How exaggerated aspects of it are and how contrived the story is. I couldn't help but feel as a I read it that Jude was suffering just for the sake of suffering. To me, it actually began to feel like the author was reveling in said suffering. I don't believe every story needs an uplifting message, but if your characters are going to go through trauma it does need to feel organic and that is where I think this novel fails as it comes off as very emotionally manipulative imo.

It's too bad, because there is a great novel in there under the mountain of melodrama.