Aashna’s Reviews > A Little Life > Status Update

I just encountered the first real, raw scenario in the book (putting a trigger warning now, it's related to self-harm). Jude cut a large gash on his arm and made Wilhelm take him to Andy, a trusted doctor. Jude purposely did not go to the ER because he knew he'd be hospitalized and questioned. This entire scenario is leaving Wilhelm wondering, confused, and scared. I wonder how or when he will try and talk to Jude.

I am finding a common theme in this book is to "make the most" of a situation. Various characters alike have lives they wish they could alter; whether this be a job, a relationship, friendships, or even what they study. However, to compensate for this struggle, these individuals do small things to brighten up their everyday lives. For instance, Wilhelm and his colleagues dance, joke, and eat after work.

I am noticing that this is a harder read; the author uses complex, specific language to convey events in the text. Although I do enjoy it, I find I sometimes have to go back and re-read passages to grasp the concept. I am wondering how Willhelm's career will continue, and how he will use his incredible potential.

I really enjoy the author's writing style; Yanagihara writes the book in different perspectives, which I feel gives the reader a deeper understanding of the text. Although I am not far in the book, I can already tell this will be extremely emotion-provoking. The main character, Willhem, has gone through a lot of difficult things in his life, and I wonder how his story will progress.

This is definitely a harder book to read - the writing style and usage of various words/phrases makes this book stand out from any I have read before. I do enjoy how the author switches between different character's perspective. They also use a lot of imagery to depict very specific scenes (such as a bus ride, appearance of a character, the interior of an apartment, etc).