Michelle

A Little Life is een intens, hartverscheurend en prachtig geschreven boek. Yanagihara speelt met tijd en perspectief—je beseft vaak pas na een paar pagina's waar en wanneer je je bevindt, wat perfect past bij de thematiek van herinnering en trauma.

Centraal staat Jude, een briljante maar gebroken man wiens verleden hem blijft achtervolgen. Je denkt soms dat het niet erger kan, maar dan bewijst Yanagihara het tegendeel. Toch zit er, tussen alle pijn en duisternis, ook liefde en hoop—in vriendschappen, in kleine gebaren, in de momenten waarop iemand Jude probeert te redden, zelfs als hij zichzelf allang heeft opgegeven.

Het laat een onuitwisbare indruk achter. Een van de meest aangrijpende boeken die ik ooit heb gelezen, waarbij ik het einde met tranen in mijn ogen heb gelezen.

“Most people think nothing can happen to them, until it does.”

This book takes you into the dark nightlife of Tokyo, specifically the infamous Kabukichō district in Shinjuku. Kenji is a night guide who leads foreign tourists through this red-light and entertainment district.

He accepts a job from Frank, a mysterious American tourist who wants to be shown around Kabukichō for three nights. From the start, Kenji feels uneasy about Frank, but the money convinces him to go through with it.

Murakami builds tension right away; a constant sense of dread lingers, and so much happens in such a short time that you can't help but keep reading.

After loving the Silo series, I was curious to see how it would continue. Actually this book went back to the beginning on how the silo world came to be. It's darker, slower, and more focused on the “why” behind everything.

I really liked Donald's storyline. Watching him slowly realize what he's a part of was intense and kind of heartbreaking. But I couldn't really get into Mission's chapters—they just didn't grab me the same way and felt like they dragged a bit. Also nice to see what the life of little Jimmy/Solo was like, before we met him in Wool and the series.

Overall, not as gripping as Wool, but still a solid and interesting read if you're into dystopias and want the full picture of the Silo world. Curious to see how this ends with the last book.

I had a hard time getting through this book. Maybe it's the writing style, but it just couldn't keep me interested.

Read in just one day:

This is a short, beautiful story about the power of friendship, acceptance, and the beauty of life. The book follows the doriyaki maker (small filled Japanese pancakes) Sentaro, who one day meets the elderly Tokue. She turns out to be able to make delicious “sweet bean paste”, which is used in these doriyaki. This is how a special friendship arises.

The story is simple, but at the same time profound and makes you think about enjoying the little things in life and seeing the beauty in nature.