For those of you who have read A Little Life, I'm sure you'll understand what I am mean when I say that there are truly no words for how amazing this novel is. I will say that it is, without a doubt, the most depressing story I have ever read. 
 Just as a warning, A Little Life is bleak . It's incredibly rare to find a novel that is that heartwrenchingly sad throughout the entire book, but make no mistake! This book definitely delivers on heartbreak. [I just want to reiterate: THIS BOOK IS BLEAK, SAD, AND DEPRESSING THROUGHOUT. EVEN THE HAPPY PARTS ARE SAD. ] 
 The prose is so beautifully well-done that you don't even realize that you're caught up in the story, until you finish a chapter and feel an overwhelming urge to cry, scream, and/or put down the book and sit in anguished silence, contemplating on life - not only your life, but those around you. 
 Yanagihara writes her characters in such a way that you can't help but get attached to them, taking on their pain as your own, like you would a close friend. Jude has got to be the most complex, intricate, beautiful, damaged character I have ever read about in any book. 
 Is this book beautiful? Yes. 
 Is it depressing? You betcha. 
 Should you still read it? Absolutely.