Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
A Little Life
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 32 hrs and 51 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
A Little Life
Buy Now for £16.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
'I'm not exaggerating when I say this novel challenged everything I thought I knew about love and friendship. It's one of those books that stays with you forever.' – Dua Lipa
The million-copy bestseller, Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life, by the author of To Paradise, is an immensely powerful and heartbreaking novel of brotherly love and the limits of human endurance.
Winner of Fiction of the Year at the British Book Awards
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize
Finalist for the US National Book Award for Fiction
When four graduates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their centre of gravity.
Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he'll not only be unable to overcome – but that will define his life forever.
'Yanagihara takes you so deeply into the lives and minds of these characters that you struggle to leave them behind.' – The Times
Featured article: The top trending BookTok audiobooks
For audiobook lovers, nothing comes close to the feeling of stumbling upon a new favourite adventure, love story, or thriller. Finding that new favourite is now easier than ever! The world of BookTok is overflowing with audiobooks ready to become your new obsession....
Critic reviews
"In person Yanagihara is breezily intellectual; all bright red lipstick, sparkly jewellery and cobalt-blue heels. And yet A Little Life has at its heart a darkness so profound you wonder both where it came from and how she mustered the courage to confront it…She is, she says, very much the sort of person who walks past strangely located doors or evocatively seedy windows and immediately wonders what lives exist behind them. For Yanagihara, you feel, they’re more likely to be damaged than not." (Alison Roberts, Evening Standard)
"The English language novel that affected me most this year. It’s long and unrelenting but completely compelling - and it tells you, as no other novel I know does, that there are harms and injuries in life from which no recovery is possible." (David Sexton, Evening Standard)
"Unlike anything I’ve read before." (Alex Preston, The Observer)
More from the same
What listeners say about A Little Life
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- b d.
- 06-09-16
Brilliant
Heart felt, well read. Very moving, did not want it to end, felt every word
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- AP Terry
- 03-01-22
A difficult but beautiful story
Living though this incredible tale has been extremely thought provoking. A true rollercoaster of emotions. It's hard to recommend as sometimes it would feel like a grueling and punishing listen. Yet the writing is so rich and the characters so fully formed to a point of feeling completely genuine that it has to be a recommend listen.
Incredible narration. The voice for Harold is so perfect, so soothing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris Mead
- 31-01-21
Painfully graphic, emotionally exhausting but gripping book.
A painfully graphic book that follows the lives of four college friends, one character in particular where you graphically understand the horrific abuse and childhood he had and how it shapes the person he is now, the relationships he has, or doesn’t have.
The book is excruciatingly sad in places, thought provoking and heart warming in others when the love and care of others now is so at odds with the tragedy and horror of the past with all of its scars, both physically and mentally.
Whilst not as extreme perhaps, this book does highlight that everyone has a past you may not know or understand and it may be painful, so be kind.
A tough story in places, almost too tough to continue but I needed to understand how it ended and could not stop listening. A superb piece of writing, graphic, emotional, thought provoking- so if you pick up the book, brace yourself, it’s hard going but well worth it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 24-11-21
what a story
this is one of those books, that you will never forget.
A story of 4 friends and their life's.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Abi Johnson
- 21-10-21
Excellent
I know a lot of people found the ending to be devastating but I truly found it affirming...? Yes. there's a lot of pain and suffering and struggle but there is also, eventually, growth and that's wonderful. I loved these characters so much.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kerry Meek
- 02-10-21
Truly amazin
A beautifully written and extremely emotional story that is gripping to the very end. Can't recommend it enough.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chibuchi M.
- 26-12-17
Definitely worth the listen, yet heart rending.
This story was a rollercoaster. I was drawn in from the beginning although somewhat confused trying to keep track of things. But Hanya’s writing, first and foremost, and of course, Oliver’s narration do the story so much justice. So many characters to fall in love with, others to hate, and some that you find yourself hating and loving in conflicting measures.
There were times I had to stop listening for long stretches because there are parts that break your heart terribly. Then I’d find myself up at 3am listening again. There are also extremely beautiful, happy, touching parts that also make the book a masterpiece.
It’s been an experience. I’ve never cried this hard about a book. I’d say it’s definitely worth the listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Isobel Cripps
- 27-12-18
Beautiful written and delicately told
This book will stay with me forever. It’s a tale so sad it’s impossible not to feel submerged in the the main character’s pain, the depths of which are enduring and incomprehensible.
Beautifully written and delicately told, this poignant tale takes you on a journey of the entwined lives of the characters, and at times their pain is tangible. Like a heavy coat, it weighs you down at times but you’re drawn to its warmth; and in the rare moments of their happiness you find your heart settling down hoping for an ultimately happy outcome.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Oriel
- 12-02-19
What a story
What a story. Painful yet heart-warming at the same time. You'll want to read till the end.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Carla Payne
- 21-02-19
Beautifully written
A compelling and heart moving read...i was taken on a journey of friendship, success and loss and by the end could of kept on listening to more about these characters lives!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!