A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life

Author(s)	Hanya Yanagihara
Published	March 10, 2015
Publisher	Doubleday
Genre(s)	Contemporary Fiction
Age group	Adult

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara is an adult contemporary novel, originally published on March 10, 2015.

Trigger Warnings

To view more details about a given item, click the "Expand" button beside it. Please note that these details may include spoilers.

• Ableism (violent) Expand
  Dismissal of chronic pain, physical abuse after showcasing disability, character is raped because of his disability. This happens in The Axiom of Equality, Chapter One.
• Child abandonment Expand
  A baby is left in a dumpster
• Child abuse
• Child death Expand
  Detailed, The Axiom of Equality Chapter Two.
• Child molestation
• Child rape Expand
  From 9 to 12 years old. Hundreds of men, including his parental figure. The Axiom of Equality, Chapter Three.
• Drug abuse
• Domestic violence/abuse Expand
  Has the potential to lead to a possible murder. The Axiom of Equality, Chapter One and Two.
• Eating disorder
• Emotional abuse
• Gaslighting
• Grooming
• Lesbophobia (unchallenged)
• Manipulation
• Pedophilia
• Physical abuse Expand
  Character is constantly hit by people raising him as a child. He is later hit by a partner as an adult.
• Racism Expand
  Deep discussions of Black identity are discussed within the book, including internalized racism and being mixed. Some Black readers have expressed this oversteps boundaries, as the author is not Black.
• Rape Expand
  The Axiom of Equality, Chapter One and Chapter Two. Child rape at Chapter Three.
• Self harm (graphic)
• Sex Trafficking Expand
  Of a child (from nine to twelve years old) by his guardian. The Axiom of Equality, Chapter Three.
• Sexual abuse
• Sexual assault
• Suicide ideation
• Suicide Expand
  Graphic attempt at The Axiom of Equality, Chapter Three.
• Transphobia (misgendering) Expand
  Character isn't actually trans, but characters doing the misgendering believe they are, trans identity is used as a punchline. Vanities, Chapter One.

Representation

An asterisk (*) indicates that the author openly identifies with that identity.

• M/M romance (main characters)
• Non-specified POC (main character)
• Black side characters
• Indian side character
• Disabled main character
• PTSD (main character)

Tropes

• Friends-to-lovers