Welcome back to another book club post yall! Today we are going to be talking about another book from an author of asian decent that I am really excited about. Now everyone loves a good friend group dynamic. Each person in the crew with their own intricacies and quirks. Think Friends or my personal favorite Seinfeld; a group of unique individuals navigating life in a big city. That is what A Little Life reminds me of but just the more fucked up version of that without the comedic elements.
The book starts off typical New York style. We are introduced to a group of 4 racially diverse “New York” friends. Willem with a shaky past is an actor known for his good looks and genuinely kind heart. JB is a black ambitious artist who focuses on drawing people around him. Malcolm half-white and half-black is an architect who comes from affluence and privilege.Then lastly, there is Jude. Jude is the most ambiguous one of the bunch. The successful lawyer that no one can quite figure out, but a past worse than what anyone can ever imagine.
A little bit of plot
The story relies a lot on friendship but focuses primarily on Jude. On his past, on his pain, and a lot on his mental obstacles. Both bonded by trauma from their past, It makes sense from the beginning how Willem and Jude get close As the audience, we don’t know the extent of suffering that encompasses Jude. Throughout the novel were are taken through flashbacks that stop just right enough to let out own imaginations do the rest of the storytelling until we get to the part of the novel where we don’t need to imagine anymore.
The media usually trademarks humans who have been victims of sexual abuse as people with: sexual deviation, perversion, anger, life-long criminality and so forth. Jude doesn’t display any of that. Yanagihara makes Jude a different case by creating him as someone so brilliant, phenomenal, and accomplished. Why this is so strange is because Jude’s self-hate is almost too unbearable at times. Where does his motivation to continue come from? I asked myself this question over and over again while reading through pages of his self-deprecation. Until I realized its the people around him that push him forward.
Throughout this ominous presence of suffering the novel’s saving grace is the amazing relationships we witness. We literally are growing up with the characters and for a 700 plus page novel, I don’t expect anything less.
What inspired her to write this?
I read an interview about her and it talks about the many inspirations for this book. She spent a great deal collecting artwork of grotesque photographs of men losing themselves to kind of channel the energy she needed for the novel. She also channeled a lot of her inspiration from the people around her as well. Yanagihara is not married and doesn’t plan or want any kids. She wanted to showcase a different side of adulthood that isn’t revolved around marriage but friendships. I think this novel was an interesting take on love, ambition and sexuality. Overall a very heart-warming novel that yall should read (if you have the time, of course, it is very lengthy).
Last book club post here
Slider picture from NY Times.
