Book Review: ‘A Little Life’

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Updated 27 October 2024
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Book Review: ‘A Little Life’

  • Spanning more than 700 pages, the novel is an emotionally intense journey that delves deep into the lives of four college friends as they navigate adulthood in New York City

Hanya Yanagihara’s “A Little Life,” originally published in 2015, is a monumental and devastating exploration of trauma, friendship and the complexities of human resilience. 

Spanning more than 700 pages, the novel is an emotionally intense journey that delves deep into the lives of four college friends as they navigate adulthood in New York City. 

At its core, however, the novel revolves around Jude St. Francis, a character whose harrowing past and enduring pain form the emotional backbone of the story.

The power of “A Little Life” lies in its unflinching portrayal of suffering. Yanagihara masterfully crafts a narrative that is both intimate and unrelenting, capturing the profound impact of Jude’s traumatic experiences. His past, gradually revealed through the novel, casts a long shadow over his present, affecting not only his relationship with himself but also with those who care for him. 

The depiction of trauma is raw and visceral, leaving a lasting impression on the reader. Yanagihara does not spare the reader from the depths of Jude’s anguish, making the novel a challenging but profoundly moving experience.

While the novel is heavy with themes of pain and loss, it also explores the transformative power of friendship. The bond between Jude and his friends — Willem, Malcolm and JB — offers moments of tenderness and connection that provide respite from the overwhelming darkness. Yanagihara’s portrayal of these relationships is one of the novel’s strengths, offering a nuanced look at love, loyalty and the ways in which friends become chosen family. 

The deep emotional ties between the characters elevate “A Little Life” beyond a mere tale of suffering, making it a meditation on the capacity for human connection to heal, even when the scars run deep.

Yanagihara’s prose is haunting and beautiful, drawing the reader into the lives of the characters with an intensity that is hard to resist. The novel’s length allows for a thorough and immersive exploration of the characters’ inner worlds, making their joys and sorrows feel deeply personal. 

Yet, “A Little Life” is not without its challenges. Its relentless focus on Jude’s trauma can be overwhelming, and the novel’s unremitting sadness may prove too intense for some readers. However, for those willing to confront its emotional weight, the novel offers a deeply affecting and unforgettable experience.

In “A Little Life,” Yanagihara examines the extremes of human experience — both the agonizing depths of despair and the redemptive potential of love. It is a novel that demands patience and emotional endurance but rewards readers with a story of profound emotional depth. 

Although it may not be suitable for everyone, “A Little Life” is a masterpiece of modern literature, providing an unflinching look at pain, survival and the bonds that sustain us.


What We Are Reading Today: Desert Edens

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Updated 30 May 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Desert Edens

  • Lehmann examines some of the most ambitious climate-engineering projects to emerge in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Author: Philipp Lehmann

From the 1870s to the mid-20th century, European explorers, climatologists, colonial officials, and planners were avidly interested in large-scale projects that might actively alter the climate. Uncovering this history, “Desert Edens” looks at how arid environments and an increasing anxiety about climate in the colonial world shaped this upsurge in ideas about climate engineering.

From notions about the transformation of deserts into forests to Nazi plans to influence the climates of war-torn areas, Philipp Lehmann puts the early climate change debate in its environmental, intellectual, and political context, and considers the ways this legacy reverberates in the present climate crisis.

Lehmann examines some of the most ambitious climate-engineering projects to emerge in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Confronted with the Sahara in the 1870s, the French developed concepts for a flooding project that would lead to the creation of a man-made Sahara Sea.

 

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Becoming Earth’

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Updated 30 May 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Becoming Earth’

  • Surprisingly, as Jabr discusses the disadvantages of human activity leading to environmental crises, he also highlights the importance of humans in improving ecosystems

Author: Ferris Jabr

Published in 2024 and written by Ferris Jabr, “Becoming Earth” talks about how the planet we know and live in started and came to life.

One of the significant thoughts Jabr argues through his book is the idea that billions of years ago, life transformed from a collection of orbiting rocks into what we now know as our cosmic oasis. This process released oxygen into the atmosphere, formed seas and oceans, and shaped rocks into fertile soil.

Through the book, the author also discusses various environmental systems and how they operate. He talks about the roles of microbes in shaping continents, the Amazon rainforest’s self-sustaining rain cycle and the impact of human activities on planetary systems, all connected to other natural events.

Surprisingly, as Jabr discusses the disadvantages of human activity leading to environmental crises, he also highlights the importance of humans in improving ecosystems. Despite the negative impacts people have had on the environment, humanity has expended a great deal of energy to understand and mitigate environmental problems, he argues.

However, the book has received some criticism, with reviewers arguing that Jabr may have conflated his personal perspective on Earth with scientific research and evidence in the process of using metaphors to explain science.

Other reviewers said that a few sections of “Becoming Earth” may need improvement and more in-depth scientific evidence to support the conclusions Jabr makes.

 


What We Are Reading Today: Red Bandit by Mike Guardia

Updated 29 May 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Red Bandit by Mike Guardia

Mike Guardia's "Red Bandit" pulls you into the cockpit of this legendary jet, delivering a visceral, no-holds-barred chronicle of its battlefield legacy, stripping away the myths to reveal the true capabilities — and limits — of Russia’s iconic warbird.

Based on declassified reports, first-hand pilot accounts, and meticulous combat analysis, Red Bandit is more than just a parochial history — it’s a high-stakes, sky-scorching narrative of power, politics, and heart-pounding dogfights.

 


Book Review: ‘A Shining’ by Jon Fosse

Updated 28 May 2025
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Book Review: ‘A Shining’ by Jon Fosse

Jon Fosse, the 2023 Nobel laureate, delivers a masterclass in existential minimalism with “A Shining,” a novella that glimmers with metaphysical unease.

Translated from Norwegian by Damion Searls, this brief but resonant work lingers like a half-remembered dream, inviting readers to grapple with its haunting ambiguity.   

An unnamed man drives into a remote forest, seeking isolation. When his car stalls, he abandons it, lured deeper into the trees by an enigmatic light. What begins as a quest for solitude spirals into a disorienting confrontation with the unknown.

Strange encounters — a flickering figure, disembodied voices, a persistent glow — blur the boundaries of reality. Is the “shining” a divine sign, a mental rupture, or something beyond comprehension? Fosse offers no easy answers.

Fosse’s sparse, rhythmic prose mirrors the protagonist’s fractured psyche. Sentences loop and stutter, mimicking the repetitive chatter of a mind unraveling (“I walked, I walked, I walked”).

Yet, within this austerity lies startling beauty: Descriptions of moss, shadows and cold air ground the surreal in the realm of the sensory.   

The novella probes humanity’s existential contradictions, particularly the tension between our desire for solitude and our terror of abandonment.

It lays bare the futility of seeking meaning in a universe indifferent to human struggles, while questioning how much we can trust our perceptions.

Are the protagonist’s encounters real, or projections of a mind teetering on the brink of collapse? Fosse leaves readers suspended in that uncertainty.  

Fosse refuses to cater to conventional narrative appetites. There are no villains or heroic arcs, only a man wrestling with the void within.

Fans of Franz Kafka’s existential labyrinths or Samuel Beckett’s bleak humor will find kinship here. 

“A Shining” is not for readers craving action or closure. It is a quiet storm of a book, best absorbed in one sitting under dim light.

Perfect for lovers of philosophical fiction, poetry devotees, and anyone who has ever stared into darkness and wondered what stared back.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Elephants and Their Fossil Relatives’

Updated 27 May 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Elephants and Their Fossil Relatives’

Authors: Asier Larramendi and Marco P. Ferretti

Today, only three species of elephants survive — the African savanna elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. However, these modern giants represent just a fraction of the vast and diverse order of Proboscidea, which includes not only living elephants but also their many extinct relatives.

Over the past 60 million years, proboscideans have evolved and adapted across five continents, giving rise to an astonishing variety of forms, from the massive, woolly-coated mammoths of the Ice Age to the diminutive, island-dwelling dwarf elephants.