A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity. Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.~Goodreads



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I had heard so many good things about this book that I just couldn't wait to read it. Unfortunately for me, I had listened to all the hype and was expecting some miraculous. That would change my life forever. Meh. Not so much. I realize I am in the minority since I didn't fall in love with this book. But, we started this blog with the intentions of always being honest and I intend to do just that.  To be totally honest, I couldn't even finish the book. This is saying something as I am one of those people who will slog through a book no matter how terrible it is, in the hopes that it will improve.  I didn't care about the characters, it was all just too whiny and "poor, poor Jude" the whole time. I get that Jude had a terrible past but maybe if there was more attention to the other characters, I would have liked it more. It just depressed me and left me with no interest in continuing reading. I can't give it any stars as I didn't finish but I will say 2/5 for the half I did manage to read.

As I said, this is my own opinion and the vast majority of people who read it, loved it. Read some of the other reviews on Goodreads and if you read it (or have already read it), drop me a note here in the comments and let me know what you thought of it. I'm fine with dissenting opinions, just please no hate mail.lol~Laurie