A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

This is no sappy YA ladies and gents, this is a tear-jerking wrecking ball smashing your very sense of existence into smithereens. Anyone should read this book purely because it can truly enlighten you on the intricacies and fragilities of our mind. You might find yourself identifying with any one of the four main characters, as each comprises a plethora of emotional facets. However, I personally favored Willem, for his deep-seated kindness along with his innate modesty and complete devotion to those most important to him, and Jude, for his constant struggle with the monsters lurking in his mind and the anguish that makes my heart bleed. The plot of this novel deals with the horrors that man is capable of imposing upon others, as well as the long-lasting, detrimental effects those ordeals can have on us, and the painful truth that sometimes, picking up the last vestiges of your self can last indefinitely. Reading time : around a week at a few hours per day, word checking time included. Difficulty : easy to understand, yet the multiple cultural and academic references might leave you blind of the intended meaning if you don’t look them up while reading. Vocabulary : overall quite a few words you might find new and lots of jargon, though lack of knowledgeability shouldn’t impede plot comprehension. Page count : 814