Without a doubt this is the best and most heartbreaking book I've read in my life. But be warned: this requires an emotional investment equivalent to a pound of flesh: the price is hefty, it's going to hurt, and you're going to suffer; but take this hit because it will pay off.
Clearly Yanagihara shows brilliant writing talent. She creatively strings words and phrases together to produce immense thoughts and ideas; but it doesn't end there. The thoughts and ideas, themselves, contain a rawness and honesty that bites and microscopically tears into you. She gives you a reprieve and emotional scar tissue builds, and she cuts again, words searing through the toughened flesh. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Each character felt vibrant and present in my mind, their descriptions more than mere words on a page. Jude, Willem, Harold, Andy, JB, Malcolm, Julia, Richard: were they to come to lunch with me I'd know them so well I could order for them. Yanagihara gifted me that level of intimacy.
As for the specific characters of Jude, Willem, Harold, and Andy, I carry them inside of me now. Andy: the very definition of dedication, everything a medical professional should ideally be. Harold: a man devastated by loss who makes the brave and frightening choice to invite someone with an unknown past into his life. Willem: the best friend a person could possibly ever have. Ever.
Finally, Jude: the character with the most clarity, a precarious and fragile soul for whom my heart simultaneously breaks and cheers. He is far too complex and damaged and beautiful a person to summarize. Read the book.
The story (and the story within the story) progresses slowly and builds until it runs away, the reader in tow. Glance up and months have sped by. Years, decades. And you're with it every step of the way, watching their hair gray, witnessing their bodies break down.
The author accomplished a shift in reader perception with a barely noticeable, subtly nuanced use of the title, conveniently tucked away in two very different parts of the book. At the end you're left to choose which to take with you.
Another stunning use of her skill is silent foreshadowing, enough to make you forget it had ever been there. And then you're reminded of when it happened, and the fact that you remember it happening becomes the most touching and interactive part in the entire book.
A study emerged in the past few years linking the development of empathy to reading fiction. This novel is a prime example of this. Unless you're a psychopath, you cannot read this without seeing the world from the main character's point of view. More importantly, you cannot be in a position to judge his actions. Personally, I felt for him deeply; I lost sleep over him; I mourned with him; I cried so many tears for him for myriad reasons. I suspect I might have been a little bit in love with Jude.
I will never forget the experience of reading this. It couldn't have been only a story. It felt so real. It was so real. Wasn't it?
Clearly Yanagihara shows brilliant writing talent. She creatively strings words and phrases together to produce immense thoughts and ideas; but it doesn't end there. The thoughts and ideas, themselves, contain a rawness and honesty that bites and microscopically tears into you. She gives you a reprieve and emotional scar tissue builds, and she cuts again, words searing through the toughened flesh. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Each character felt vibrant and present in my mind, their descriptions more than mere words on a page. Jude, Willem, Harold, Andy, JB, Malcolm, Julia, Richard: were they to come to lunch with me I'd know them so well I could order for them. Yanagihara gifted me that level of intimacy.
As for the specific characters of Jude, Willem, Harold, and Andy, I carry them inside of me now. Andy: the very definition of dedication, everything a medical professional should ideally be. Harold: a man devastated by loss who makes the brave and frightening choice to invite someone with an unknown past into his life. Willem: the best friend a person could possibly ever have. Ever.
Finally, Jude: the character with the most clarity, a precarious and fragile soul for whom my heart simultaneously breaks and cheers. He is far too complex and damaged and beautiful a person to summarize. Read the book.
The story (and the story within the story) progresses slowly and builds until it runs away, the reader in tow. Glance up and months have sped by. Years, decades. And you're with it every step of the way, watching their hair gray, witnessing their bodies break down.
The author accomplished a shift in reader perception with a barely noticeable, subtly nuanced use of the title, conveniently tucked away in two very different parts of the book. At the end you're left to choose which to take with you.
Another stunning use of her skill is silent foreshadowing, enough to make you forget it had ever been there. And then you're reminded of when it happened, and the fact that you remember it happening becomes the most touching and interactive part in the entire book.
A study emerged in the past few years linking the development of empathy to reading fiction. This novel is a prime example of this. Unless you're a psychopath, you cannot read this without seeing the world from the main character's point of view. More importantly, you cannot be in a position to judge his actions. Personally, I felt for him deeply; I lost sleep over him; I mourned with him; I cried so many tears for him for myriad reasons. I suspect I might have been a little bit in love with Jude.
I will never forget the experience of reading this. It couldn't have been only a story. It felt so real. It was so real. Wasn't it?
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