A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara is the best book I've read this year. It exorcises the demons that plague fear and abuse replacing them friendship and love. It is a story of perseverance despite certain inevitabilities. It is a Francis Bacon painting surrounded by Monet's water lilies.
Some folks have said they rated this book less due to lack of historical background or the implausibility of Jude (main character) playing the piano. I accepted instances like Jude playing the piano and I didn't care about historical background because it simply wasn't part of this story and I feel like you shouldn't put something in a book if it doesn't move you plot forward.
This is a book about what is felt on the inside and if the outer world doesn't embellish that - leave it out. Yanagihara's prose could have been cut, yes, but with writing that flipping awesome why should it? I enjoyed the lyrical sound her words made, so I never tired of reading the essential plot points, but also the flabby repetitive musical chorus simply because the harmony of her words felt like Alison Krauss and The Band.
A Little Life should be placed on everyone's books to read list preferably near in the top ten. I know it made me reexamine love and friendship in a way that not only helps me to persevere but be eternally grateful for what life has given me. This story is realistic in a way that lets the reader know they can't have it all, but you can have what's important to living.
