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A Little Life
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 32 hrs and 51 mins
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Publisher's Summary
A novel of extraordinary intelligence and heart, a masterful depiction of heartbreak and a dark and haunting examination of the tyranny of experience and memory. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara is an immensely powerful and heartbreaking novel of brotherly love and the limits of human endurance. When four graduates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their centre of gravity. Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he'll not only be unable to overcome - but that will define his life forever.
Critic Reviews
"Unlike anything I’ve read before." (Alex Preston, The Observer)
"The English language novel that affected me most this year. It’s long and unrelenting but completely compelling - and it tells you, as no other novel I know does, that there are harms and injuries in life from which no recovery is possible." (David Sexton, Evening Standard)
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What listeners say about A Little Life
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Shivam
- 28-07-19
Good read
'The Great Gay Novel'...
Strong contender of 'Most Depressing book ever written'...
A book on 'Broken and flawed characters'...
A book about 'Unforgiving life'...
800 pages of 'Relentlessly Sad monotonous storyline'...
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And I can't deny any of those accusations and allegations...
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It's gripping enough to keep your earphones plugged in 5 hours each day...
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Yes Jude St Francis is a broken character. Yes he is full of insecurities to the extent where it becomes annoying. But then you find out his history and the sympathy takes over that annoyance in a second...
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But to me, this book is about HOPE and GOODWILL. After each page, each chapter, you hope things will become normal... Things will turn out to be good. That there will be a happy ending.
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How much we humans long for 'Happy Endings'. We are all flawed in our own ways. We have our own set of insecurities... But as long as there's a Happy Ending, the charade was worth it.... For Jude St Francis. For us. For our lives...
2 people found this helpful
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- aparna adhav
- 16-12-20
Won't regret reading this
Such an amazing book ...I would not be able to articulate this properly but it just takes you to a different world,and the narration is splendid.
Please do listen or read this book it is worth your time.
1 person found this helpful
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- Jay
- 24-05-22
Poignant and very beautifully written.
Hanya Yanagihara writes with great empathy and poignancy. She has said that the story started off as something she was lucky catch and then grew into something beyond her ken. like playing with a tiger cub that slowly grew into an adult. It watched it grow with dismay and awe. I read with admiration and awe for the author.
Also, the narrator, Oliver Wyman did an excellent job.
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- Anonymous User
- 05-05-22
Heartbreaking & Hopeful
I've cried & I've smiled countlessly at the courage this book represents. Of how swiftly it digs deeper into a person's life & unravel the darkness, the chaos, the past. I'm grateful that this book exists because I've felt so much of every emotion while listening to it.
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- Amit
- 06-04-22
Beautifully narration of a powerful and difficult book
The narrator did a beautiful job reading it. I couldn’t stop listening to it.
The story itself is so devastating, it broke my heart so many times.
Overall had an unforgettable experience listening to this. Thank you
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- ar
- 20-10-21
5 stars is not enough for this masterpiece
5 stars are not enough to describe how I feel about this book. It took me almost half a year to finish it, not because it was too long (it was!) , but because of the insane writing. I constantly kept thinking that this is just magnificent writing throughout!!I had to stop listening to it at times, to bring myself back into the real world(Kudos to the narrator too for the moving rendition). Sometimes, it took me weeks to want to get back to the story, times when it was so sad that I wondered if life was really as bad as this author makes it out to be. I wish this was a happy book, but it is not. Nevertheless, it is a masterpiece in writing. A classic of our times.
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- rishabh arora
- 13-09-21
you won't be the same after this book!!!
what an amazing tale of love friendships and life itself!
cried several times during the book...and I don't think so illl ever be able to get it out of my head!
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- M Prasad
- 22-08-20
A long emotional and heart wrenching novel
Never thought a book could make me feel so many things at once. A Little Life starts of slow with a story about 4 friends and goes on to focus on one of them. The details, the characters, the warmth, the feelings - everything is amazingly portrayed. It's gut wrnechingly painful and amazingly emotional. The narrator does an excellent job at conveying the feelings through his voice.
Hanya Yanagihara has showed how influencing childhood memories can be on an adult life. Must read for everyone
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- A K.
- 23-07-20
heart wrenching and right in the feels!
read it with caution. It has a number of triggers and is sure to leave you heartbroken, yet fulfilled, if that makes any sense.
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- Ruth
- 13-03-16
Recommend you take Zoloft with this
Any additional comments?
Clearly a well written novel but if you're not clinically depressed before you start you will be by the end of it........ or even a third of the way through.
3 people found this helpful
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- Amrit Daswaney
- 02-08-17
Heartbreakingly excellent.
This is by some distance the best book I've heard in 2017. Performance and story.
1 person found this helpful
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- Linda
- 20-07-17
compelling
heartbreaking and thought-provoking. the reader was excellent. sorry to see it end. anyrhing else is a spoiler
1 person found this helpful
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- Linda
- 07-06-17
A modern masterpiece
Best book of 2016. Very well presented. I recommend it without reservation. A beautifully crafted story that will stay with me for a long time
1 person found this helpful
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- Jane
- 09-03-17
Long, tiresome, sad
I was disappointed with this novel: too long, lots of unnecessary additions and a COMPLETELY unrealistic depiction of adoption, homosexuality and friendship.
I loved the narration, wonderful! But sadly, I don't think I'll ever be listening to this book again.
1 person found this helpful
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- Michael
- 10-08-16
Boring
The most over-written repetitive boring garbage ive ever read. Phrases, descriptions, sentences repeated throughout the book. Maybe its a farcical send up of "modern ametican wtiting"?
1 person found this helpful
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- Elizabeth
- 27-02-16
I couldn't finish this
What would have made A Little Life better?
A more nuanced plot. I mean it's all so gory and the main character is not likeable at all.
What was most disappointing about Hanya Yanagihara’s story?
The main character. What a weird story. Ewe. How on earth is anyone supposed to relate to such a person?
How could the performance have been better?
The performance was fine. The material was dreadful though.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from A Little Life?
To be honest there's not much could be done with it from my perspective. When I finally realised what the central theme of the book was (about 1/10th into the book?) I realised that it wasn't going to be the story I had expected about multiple characters but rather about one main unattractive protagonist who I felt no sympathy for. I decided that there wasn't any point in exploring the book further because it would just drag on with these dreadful images and impossible to believe in choices. So I gave up. I would remove the whole thing and leave nothing behind.
1 person found this helpful
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- Eleanor
- 12-01-16
Spoke to my Heart - But, Sung to my Soul
Would you consider the audio edition of A Little Life to be better than the print version?
I felt like i was the 5th silent Best Friend, watching and waiting to hear the story unfold. Just so powerful and moving, I will read/listen to anything that this Author has to offer.
What was one of the most memorable moments of A Little Life?
When William realised that he was in love with Jude.
Which character – as performed by Oliver Wyman – was your favorite?
William. Although i would have loved to hear more of Malcolm's story.
1 person found this helpful
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- kennickie
- 22-01-23
Monotonous
Couldn’t listen to narrator got 3 hours in and had no idea what was going on. Narrators voice was one tone the whole time no change for characters
Bored
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- Megan Willson
- 19-12-22
Complex brutal and utterly outstanding
The writing is utterly flawless. The performance exquisite. It’s a harrowing story of a little life.
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- J Forrester
- 27-01-16
Devastating but brilliant
This book is both one of the best books I've read for ages and completely awful! The story is totally compelling and the characters are real and memorable and, in many cases, wonderful. But you will need therapy and/or a duvet day or two to get over the trauma of reading it. If you think you've read the most upsetting part, you are wrong. There is much worse to come. I think relentless is the best way to describe it. I loved it and I would recommend it, but don't say I didn't warn you.
35 people found this helpful
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- R. J. Gladden
- 19-08-16
Relentlessly depressing
After investing 30 hours of my life listening to this book, I finally realised it was never going to get any better, that there was never going to be a redeeming moment when it was going to come together and Jude would finally get the moment he deserved. It just went on and on and on and rarely in all my life have I come across anyone who has been so ill used in the whole of their life.
Needless to say, I didn't finish the book and was really sorry I started it.
27 people found this helpful
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- Jenny
- 05-01-16
Deeply disturbing and yet i couldn't stop reading
This book isn't for everyone and there were times when I had to put it down because the violence was so graphic, but I was compelled by it and felt like I'd lost something when it ended. There are plot holes and developments that don't ring true, but for all that the story surged forward. It's a hard one to recommend, given the lack of redemption, the violence, the relentlessness of suffering, but it's an engrossing story and a totally immersive experience.
26 people found this helpful
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- bookylady
- 01-01-16
Shocking, heartbreaking, brilliant.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would recommend this book but with the proviso that it is a book that will possibly upset you, shock you, horrify you. But it will grab you by the throat and not let go until the last page. And even then it will haunt you for a long time. It is not a book that you can listen to quickly and is best listened to in long stretches, concentrating on all the nuances and detailed layers of character and plot.
What was one of the most memorable moments of A Little Life?
There are too many moments, many of them brutal and shocking, to mention. This story is complicated and told from more than one viewpoint and is a tour de force of visceral writing. I can still see many of the pivotal moments playing out in my head. For me it was a very ' visual' story.
Which character – as performed by Oliver Wyman – was your favourite?
Oliver Wyman is a terrific, gifted narrator and he managed to make every character come alive. Jude, the main protagonist, was believable and I became totally immersed in his story. But for me the character who caught myattention the most was Willem, Jude's best friend, protector and partner. He was the epitome of what true friendship should be and I cried for him, laughed with him, rooted for him, empathised with him and all because of the way in which the narrator portrayed him.
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
One little life, four huge hearts.
Any additional comments?
This is a story of love, friendship, sexuality, relationships, culture, disability, discrimination and abuse (of all descriptions) and all tied up in the lives of four men who meet at a small American college. They remain friends for the rest of their lives, with various ups and downs, and forge bonds that see them through the need to support Jude, and the mysteries that surround his early life. It is a fantastic read, one that will make you laugh and cry, one that will make you dread the next sentence, one that will make you flinch and question what you know about people and what it means to be human.
I will definitely listen to this again. One of my top five books of 2015.
18 people found this helpful
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- Jools
- 26-11-15
Wow!!
Fantastic book, but quite harrowing and difficult to listen to in places. The story flowed beautifully, and although it was a very long book, still I didn't want it to end, and could have listened for another 10 hours quite easily.
The narrator can make or break an audio book for me, and this one definitely made it.
17 people found this helpful
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- Tilla van Vuuren
- 29-07-17
Exhausting and difficult read.
This books grips one from the start, but from about halfway through, I thought I had never read repetition like this before. It was as if the main character, Jude's constant stream of thoughts had become too much, too repetitive. I have never read the phrase "I am sorry so many times in one book.
The writer, Hanya Yanigihara , was over indulging in her writing, her story. The 720 pages could have been cut by at least 200 pages.
An exhausting and difficult book to read and also to listen to on audio books.
15 people found this helpful
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- Mr
- 16-11-16
Don't listen if you need picking up
I found this book quite tough going, it is a pretty depressing subject matter and the tone of the narrator seems to amplify this. I found I was drifting off thinking of other things rather than listening to the book.
Still, I made it to the end, just.
13 people found this helpful
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- Maggie Kiely
- 19-02-16
So glad when it was finally over
This is first book I have read by this author and chose it due to all the ‘hype’ surrounding it due to its place on Man Booker List.
Jude the main character is a top lawyer at an equally top New York corporate law firm. Jude is brilliant, drawing in new business, administering and managing without comparison. Yet he is caring, kind thoughtful towards many almost equally talented devoted friends. He plays the piano and can sing in varied languages to professional standard. He is a chef to professional standing as well as being a mathematician and of course a lover and expert of all things ‘arty’. We are told he became all this following abandonment as a baby followed by 15 years of physical emotional and sexual abuse. Difficult to believe and some….
Jude is complex. He has physical issues including constant pain and a long time need to self-harm. This bit I can believe but it could be argued that to be kind emphatic understanding and giving to others would need to have been thought through example during his formative years. As a child Jude had no knowledge of these yet he possesses and uses them with ease in a correct and competent way. The wording and prose is delightful and carries the reader along the story but add in a little reflection and no .. .not really believable.
In one scene Jude experiences the pleasure of people already loved by him loving others that he loved. To feel this surely one would have to have experienced love care and feeling of being held securely while developing from childhood as otherwise how would an individual be able to recognise it.
This is ultimately a story of male friendship set mainly in New York. Jude is the Lawyer; JB is an Artist; Malcolm an Architect and Willem is an Actor. Their enormous success detracts from their overall credibility. Moreover their personalities remain unchanged over 35 years. Characters like Harold move from convincing to almost ghost like in the later stages of the book. Moreover the environment in which they operate does not seem to change within the time frame.
We are led to believe that Jude has self-loathing for himself yet seemingly outwardly portrays love and affection to ensure idol worship by friends and rescuers alike. They continue to care for and support him throughout his many life trials regardless.
The early scenes between Jude and his mentor Harold were heart-warming.
There is graphic overload on flesh rotting and cutting sessions. I know some of this has to be discussed for the story to progress but it felt too much and more for shock than story value. In this book it’s too much in whichever direction you travel for example the pendulum is swinging towards extreme wonderfulness or extreme wickedness and damnation.
I did feel the book was gripping in parts. I just found it such ‘ hard work’ from the start and only by forcing myself on did I ultimately get to the finish. However with such widely varying lifestyles and professions it’s amazing that these characters remained the mainstay for each other throughout their lives. They did suffer especially Jude but I guess if suffering is a requirement why not do it in luxury. Ordinary individuals like cleaners nurses are mentioned due to the work they do but then that’s it there is no further look into their lives. There are no strong female characters with roles other than to complement their men.
This book is way way way too long with much repetition and over description of trivia with meal preparation for example. I know child sexual physical and emotional abuse is real for some as I work in the Child Protection field but with everything that happened to Jude after the abuse with the domestic abuse relationship and the conclusion of the book it really does not seem so much horrendous misery can continue to befall one person. I can see how many have loved it but for me it was a well written middle of the road read. It has its enjoyable bits but Booker Prize Winner in my opinion no which ultimately it did not receive.
13 people found this helpful
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- sally
- 28-12-16
Just not for me.
Too long and I found myself becoming more and more irritated by the 'goodness 'of the characters and annoyed by the over use of 'Im sorry. I'm so sorry' .. also didn't buy the Jude story really. But it was beautifully crafted and read really well. Sure lots of people will love it
9 people found this helpful
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- jo
- 01-04-20
Painful listening to a painful story
I cannot understand why this book is so long. It’s painful to say the least but lacks poignancy for the most part. I cannot understand Judes relationship with Howard, after all those years together, did he not feel Howard deserved some warmth and connection? The women in this book may as well not be there and why the hell did Jude trust that abusive guy, I can’t remember his name because I finished it a couple of months ago. He was adamant throughout his teenage life, in spite of having wonderful, sometimes flawed but not abusive relationships with his close friends. I can’t understand his rejection of the artist guy because it was on the basis of stupid behaviour which happened when he was under the influence of DRUGS. He was not in control. Too long by far. And, we needed to have more reference to why all these people loved Jude. The story of Judes abuse is heartbreaking and left me on the edge, but other than that I didn’t like it. I’m sorry.............
8 people found this helpful
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- RCF
- 07-02-16
Bloated and sentimental
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone seeking something that gets to the heart of male relationships, as promised, as this is so clearly written by a woman who is imagining what men feel.
Any additional comments?
At 34 hours in length, this book is about 20 hours too long. The editor in me was mentally slashing it down to a more meaningful and succinct length. There is a touch of the precocious adolescent about the writing -- there is talent in there for sure, but the overblown descriptive style is so laboured, so indulgent, that it veers into the unlikely and ultimately, unnecessary.
Too long, too sentimental and frankly too extreme. The abject treatment of Jude is utterly excessive, whilst the trite imaginings of his and his friends' successful adult lives is utterly fanciful. None of these characters, though drawn out in agonising details, feel like real people.
9 people found this helpful
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- merisa
- 29-05-16
Loved it at first, then hated it.
I liked the characters at first but got tired after so many pages during which they failed to develop. I also couldn't stomach the extensively detailed cruelty so regularly meted out to the main character, who after a while lost credibility in my opinion. I gave up half way and would return the book for exchange or refund if I had the option.
7 people found this helpful
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- Emmick
- 23-02-16
A beautifully written tale of four friends
I loved this book so much. It's long, but I just couldn't stop listening to it and had it finished in no time. A previous reviewer put it perfectly; it is harrowing.
As a warning it does detail themes of just about every type of abuse, from spousal abuse to child abuse to self harm.
The narration is easy to listen to, a small criticism in that at times I wasn't sure who was talking in conversation as the inflections and tones for the characters are pretty similar.
It is a beautifully written, heart warming yet heartbreaking book, and one that will stay with me for a long time.
6 people found this helpful
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- MsLarvik
- 01-12-15
This book needs a warning label!
Well written beautiful in parts but so deeply harrowing that it was nearly too much to bear.
6 people found this helpful
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- Alana
- 05-07-16
Not as beautiful and moving as I expected
I had heard good reviews of this book on ABCs book club show. It was long and morbidly depressing. I found the dialogue repetitive and forced. It does deal with some interesting issues around relationships and the effects of trauma; however this was not the book for me. I knew this after about 10 hours listening but had to preserve as I had already given it so much time. I have a pretty high tolerance for drama and heavy topics but apparently not high enough for this book!
3 people found this helpful
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- Davide
- 24-03-17
A true masterpiece
So much has been said about this book and other than saying is beautifully interpreted in this audiobook I'll state what is not.
it's not too long
it's not too graphic
it's not so implausible
enjoy!
2 people found this helpful
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- Bec
- 18-02-16
Wonderful performance and book
I loved Oliver Wyman's narration of this profoundly human story. His characters were complex and consistent and perfect to my ears.
The story itself, harrowing, sad, funny occasionally, but mostly very very human. I loved every minute of it.
2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 26-07-17
Not Alone
Great read/listen you are completely drawn into this story it touched my soul. Thank you
1 person found this helpful
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- Lisa McKay
- 20-07-17
Could do with some good editing
This was a good book but it was over written and some proper editing would have reduced the length without taking away from the story.
1 person found this helpful
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- Fiona
- 11-01-17
Will make you cry more than once
I was captivate throughout the book. Each character came alive to the point I wondered, where these real people? Magnificent book, never have I wanted to pull a character out of a book more than I did Jude.
1 person found this helpful