I have been reading A Little Life written by Hanya Yanagihara. One thing that has stood out to me is how the novel explores friendship and trauma. The story as set in New York and it follows four friends: Jude, Willem, JB, and Malcolm through the 80’s to the 2010’s, as they grow older and deal with their own struggles. What impacted me the most was Jude’s character and how much pain he carries from his past. Even though his friends love him and try to help him, he still feels like he doesn’t deserve any happiness. This showed me how hard it can be for someone to overcome trauma, even when they are surrounded by people who care about them.
A big part of this book is friendship, the characters help each other through different challenges in life, and their friendships become one of the most important parts of the story. The novel shows that friendship can sometimes be just as meaningful as family. Overall, the book is very good, and I’m so exited to finish it. I would recommend reading it.
“You won’t understand what I mean now, but someday you will: the only trick of friendship, I think, is to find people who are better than you are, not smarter, not cooler, but kinder, and more generous, and more forgiving, and then to appreciate them for what they can teach you.” (p. 112)
In this quotation, the four friends are talking about friendship. During this point in the story, the four friends are living in New York and getting closer. The quote means that the best friends are the ones who are kind, forgiving, and supportive, not just the smartest or coolest people.