An Analysis of Hanya Yanagihara’s "A Little Life"

Despite crying over this book, people can’t seem to get enough. Here’s why.

After finishing A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, I wrote a three-page letter detailing my thoughts. I needed to do this as a catharsis––as a way to document and digest my feelings. The letter contained sentiments of joy, of profound sadness and of rage. I cried for these imaginary characters and their stories. Why did I feel this impacted by fictitious characters? Why did it make me feel these intense emotions? Similarly to people on TikTok whose first impulse was to record themselves crying profusely, I was left devastated…therein lies the brilliance of this book. 

The novel follows the lives of four people. The character of Jude St-Francis evolves into the protagonist, and the plot revolves around him and his life. We follow his highs and lows, and most notably, his struggles forming relationships given his past traumas. His attempts, though not always successful, display his desire to form attachments and overcome his fear of relationships.

The novel itself is quite subversive––it documents the challenges of real life that are often neglected in mainstream fiction. Yanagihara constructs a character riddled with trauma to document a struggle somewhat relatable to all: the inability to form connections and the exhausting efforts of trying to build relationships with others while your relationship with yourself is in shambles. It is these qualities that make this novel a popular read: it doesn't beat around the bush. It delivers a feeling of candidness that we as readers are attracted to.

Perhaps the most profound aspect of this novel, in my humble opinion, is the documentation and deliverance of Jude’s inner monologue. It is depressing, to say the least. Yet there are glimmers of hope that pop up throughout the novel when others show their care for Jude, “Things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize that no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.” I find this aspect to resonate, especially with many of us young people. We often feel a sense of uncertainty and the inability to grapple with the complexities of day-to-day  living. Life can be difficult to navigate. We can become bogged down by our pasts and our experiences—that’s expected. It is natural to be down, just as it’s natural to come up. Our lives are a constant back and forth; a culmination of valleys and peaks. A Little Life reflects this in its characters, leading to it deeply resonating with readers and therefore causing intense personal turmoil.

Overall the novel, while hard to read, delivers a truthful account of a human life. It is complex and joyous. It is invigorating and depressing. It documents the little life of one fictional character who has managed to resonate with everyone witness to his story. 

Would I recommend this novel to everyone? I don’t believe so. The plot is triggering and Jude is a character that may not be suitable for all readers. I enjoyed reading A Little Life. I developed a connection with the characters because they were written to be flawed, like real human beings. These flaws made me gravitate towards them—to try and empathize with them. It felt as though I was in the novel myself and—I was living my little life alongside them.