This was fantastic. Totally agree with reviewers who compare this to Nabokov, which is a REALLY, REALLY GOOD THING. This is not a book to read if you like clear-cut delineations between right and wrong, a hero to root for, or a comfortable reading experience. Read this if you like books that unsettle you. Read this if you want to work your way through unreliable narrators, man's inhumanity to man, grotesque "the ends justify the means" types of reasoning, weighing genius vs. accountability, and moral ambiguity. 
 And it was well-written! A book can be challenging as anything, but if it's badly written, no one will care or put in the time to work through it. This was a masterful example of beautiful language, telling an ugly story. I had A Little Life on my general TBR, but reading this debut makes me determined to read it by the end of the year. Five enthusiastic but "I kind of need a shower now because I feel icky" stars. 
 2016 reading challenge: a book written by a woman