“I wanted there to be something too much about the violence in the book, but I also wanted there to be an exaggeration of everything, an exaggeration of love, of empathy, of pity, of horror.” (2) 5. Her editor asked her to tone down the graphic descriptions of the brutal abuses in the book, but she refused. This Vulture article by Yanagihara includes several of the photos and describes what they brought to her writing. Yanagihara based the story on about 20 photos she had collected–on Pinterest. There should be a sort of out-of-time, out-of-place quality that echoes Jude’s childhood in the motel rooms, a sense that the world and its events have no effect, good or ill, on the relentlessness of your daily, present-tense experience.” 3. “You are in Jude’s world, with Jude, and there’s no escaping it. This eternal present day affects the reader’s experience of the book. This puts the characters in an “eternal present day.” 2. The Eternal Present DayĮvents, public figures, and even specific places that would place the characters in a particular time are never mentioned in the novel.

but if you haven’t read the book and don’t want to be spoiled, you may not want to read the rest of this post. Note: There are some spoilers below–mostly about the overall arc of Jude’s story, rather than specific events. 15 Things You May Not Have Known About A Little Life If you have not read A Little Life, I highly, highly recommend picking it up–after preparing yourself for an emotional, upsetting read that will stay with you forever.

A little life book cover