"A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara *****

"A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara *****

• Summer Read with Beth
• US author
• Review:  Four friends, one with a stark, horrifying secret past, and beyond that I am somewhat at a loss for words.  This is a phenomenal novel about love, the enduring, unconditional kind of love.   It is about love that survives anger, betrayal, and completely unsolvable sorrow.  The characters are followed over their adult lives in a realistic trajectory over time. I could not put this book down, despite some horrifying scenes which were anything but gratuitous. The author needed the reader to come as close to despair as possible, in order for the reader to most fully understand the psychological dynamic in the group and in each character.  Brava!