A Little Life

I very much enjoyed reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara about a man, Jude, who becomes a very successful lawyer but is always haunted by his childhood marred by terrible sexual abuse.  This is a story of love, friendship and resilience.  Jude and his three special friends Malcolm, JB and Willem meet at college and get a flat together.  They all become very successful in their field and remain close friends for life.  The reader learns in flashbacks about Jude's early life and his shame which leads him to distrust anyone who wants to get close to him.  His friends love him but he feels he doesn't deserve that love because of his childhood and his fear that they will find out about it.  This is at times a harrowing read as we can feel great sadness about Jude's early life and how it impacts on his life as an adult.  I was often in awe of the beautiful writing in this book.  I read it as an e-book with 429 pages (736 hard copy).  It is one of those rare books that I want to finish to see what happens and not wanting to leave this beautiful writing.  5/5