406 ratings (3.61 avg)
159 reviews

orla ᵕ̈

Add friend

https://instagram.com/readwithorla?r=nametag

orla ᵕ̈’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (394)
currently-reading‎ (2)
read‎ (433)
3-stars‎ (108)
4-stars‎ (108)
2024‎ (92)

5-stars‎ (89)
2022‎ (80)
2023‎ (73)
2025‎ (65)
2-stars‎ (41)
up-to-2021‎ (26)

2021‎ (22)
all-time-favourites‎ (21)
owned‎ (21)
audiobooks‎ (16)
no-rating‎ (15)
1-star‎ (14)

2026‎ (9)
book-club‎ (7)
dnf‎ (7)

Stats | More…

orla ᵕ̈ is Currently Reading

orla ᵕ̈ is currently reading

Hamlet

by William Shakespeare

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Feb 17, 2026 03:47AM

orla ᵕ̈ is currently reading

A Little Life

by Hanya Yanagihara (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: 2022, 4-stars, currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in May 2022

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

orla ᵕ̈ said: " tws: cws: ableism, child abandonment/abuse/death/rape, abuse, ed, pedophilia, prostitution, graphic self harm, suicide, suicide ideation, death

“as an adult he became so obsessed in spells with trying to identify the exact moment in which things had s tws: cws: ableism, child abandonment/abuse/death/rape, abuse, ed, pedophilia, prostitution, graphic self harm, suicide, suicide ideation, death

“as an adult he became so obsessed in spells with trying to identify the exact moment in which things had started going so wrong”

this is a book like no other. i am still unsure on my overall thoughts as this book was so dense and had so much happening that it’s difficult to gather all of my thoughts.

a little life explores the life of four friends during the last years of their university life to the later years of their life. willem is an aspiring actor; jb a tortured artist; malcom a talented architect; and jude, a dedicated lawyer.

yanagihara has a way of writing which makes you feel so attached to the characters. you get to observe their everyday routine and small details of their life whilst also experiencing the life changing events with them. you felt every heartbreak, every celebration, every ounce of doubt with the characters and you feel as if you know them.

jude as a protagonist was extremely interesting. he has experienced so much trauma throughout his whole life and you can clearly see how much this has affected him in all areas of his life. however this is my first criticism. jude experiences so much trauma that it feels like too much. a little life is extremely graphic and detailed and can be potentially harmful to readers. it is definitely a problematic story for this reason and this is why i could not give it 5 stars.

another criticism is the negativity surrounding therapy and treatment. i will say one thing: if you are struggling, please seek help. one extremely problematic opinion that is represented in this book is opposition to therapy. yanagihara doesn’t believe in therapy and it is clear. throughout the whole story jude refuses to go to therapy or seek help for his mental illness.

i do not recommend this book to anyone due to the graphic nature of it. please read the trigger / content warnings in the pinned comment before considering reading. ...more "

progress:

(page 631 of 720)
— May 22, 2022 02:43PM

May 24, 2022 10:34AM · see review