“And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him.”
A Little Life is one of the most acclaimed pieces of LGBT literary fiction ever written. Hanya Yanagihara’s story centres around four classmates from a Massachusetts college who make their way to New York. Willem is a handsome aspiring actor, JB is a quick-witted painter, Malcolm is a frustrated architect at an upstanding firm and Jude is the brilliant, withdrawn nucleus of the group. As the decades pass, their friendship is tested by addiction, success and pride. But, they soon learn that their greatest challenge is Jude himself, whose body and mind were left scarred by an unspeakable childhood and a lingering trauma that threatens to define his life for good. If you’re looking for more intense character-driven tales of grief, guilt and redemption, join us at What We Reading for the best books like A Little Life!
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong
We’re kicking off this list of books like A Little Life with Ocean Vuong’s acclaimed 2019 debut, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. The story is a letter by a son to a mother who is unable to read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, this letter unearths a family’s history rooted deep within Vietnamese history and reveals parts of a son’s life his mother never knew.
It is similar to A Little Life both as a portrait of the fraught undeniable love between a mother and her son and a striking exploration of race, class and masculinity. Delivered with incredible grace, Ocean Vuong’s story is one of being caught between two worlds, telling one’s own story and the obliterating silence that comes from not being heard.
The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt
Another one of the best books like A Little Life which mirrors its fierce character-driven look at guilt and sorrow, The Goldfinch is the 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning work by Donna Tartt. At the age of thirteen, Theo Decker, son of an absent father and devoted mother, survives an accident that still tears his life apart. Isolated in New York, he is taken in by the wealthy family of a friend.
Nevertheless, Theo remains haunted by the longing for his mother and clings to the one thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting. This painting gradually leads into the criminal underworld. As the years roll by, he becomes adept at coasting through the drawing rooms of the rich and dusty antique store where he works. Featuring vivid characters and thrilling suspense, The Goldfinch follows Theo as he becomes alienated, falls in love, and lands himself in grave danger, with the painting remaining at the centre of it all.
Real Life – Brandon Taylor
Almost everything about Wallace is opposed to the Midwestern university town where he is working toward a biochemistry degree. A black, queer and introverted Alabama native, he has left behind his family without escaping the long shadows left by his childhood. He’s also maintained a wary distance between himself and his friends.
However, over the span of a late-summer weekend, a series of confrontations with colleagues and a surprising encounter with a straight white classmate threaten to upend Wallace’s defences and expose the hidden currents of hostility and desire within the community. Profound and punching with power, Brandon Taylor’s Real Life asks what it takes to reckon with our inner wounds, and is the perfect follow-up for any readers who loved A Little Life.
Shuggie Bain – Douglas Stuart
Shuggie’s mother, Agnes, is both his guiding light and a total burden for him and his siblings. She dreams of a house with its own front door and indulges herself with small purchases to brighten up her dull life. She is married to a taxi driver and tries to maintain her pride by keeping everything – including herself – looking good. But, under the surface, Agnes finds most comfort in her drinking.
Agnes’ older children have found ways of distancing themselves from their mother, abandoning Shuggie to care for her as she wildly swings from alcoholic binges to sobriety. He is desperate to be a normal boy, even if everyone has realised he is ‘no right’. Agnes is supportive of her son, but her addiction has the potential to eclipse everyone close to her, even her beloved Shuggie. Undoubtedly one of the most powerful books like A Little Life, Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain is a story of addiction, sexuality and love, and is a thoroughly-real portrait of a working-class family.
The Great Believers – Rebecca Makkai
In 1985, Yale Tishman, the development director of an art gallery in Chicago is about to bring in an extraordinary coup in the form of a collection of 1920s paintings. But, just as his career appears to be on the brink of booming, the AIDS epidemic grows around him. At the funeral of his friend, Nico, the virus begins to circle around him. Soon, the only person he has left is Fiona, Nico’s little sister.
Three decades on, Fiona is in Paris tracking down her estranged daughter who disappeared into a cult. Whilst staying with an old friend, she finally begins to grapple with the devastating ways in which AIDS affected both her life and her relationship with her daughter. Rebecca Makkai’s heartbreaking The Great Believers features two intertwining stories that chronicle the tragedies of the eighties and the chaos of the modern world.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies – John Boyne
Cyril Avery is not a real Avery. At least, that is what his adoptive parents tell him. But, if he isn’t a real Avery, then who is he? Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl from a rural community and adopted by an affluent Dublin couple, Cyril is only tenuously tied to the world thanks to his heartfelt friendship with the far more glamorous Julian Woodbead.
At the mercy of fate, fortune and coincidence, Cyril spends a lifetime coming to terms with both himself and where he came from – and over his three score years and ten, will struggle to discover an identity, a home, a country and so much more. Taking readers on a whirlwind ride through Irish culture from the 1940s to now through the lens of an ordinary man, The Heart’s Invisible Furies is one of the best books similar to A Little Life that serves as a profound demonstration of the redemptive power the human spirit possesses.
My Dark Vanessa – Kate Elizabeth Russell
In 2000, bright, ambitious fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her enigmatic forty-two-year-old English teacher. In 2017, against a backdrop of rising accusations against powerful men, Strane was accused of sexual abuse by another former student. When they reach out to Vanessa, she is presented with an impossible choice. Remain silent and firm in her belief that her teenage self willingly entered into this relationship, or redefine herself and the past.
Told in alternating perspectives between Vanessa’s past and present, Kate Elizabeth Russell’s My Dark Vanessa is a defining look at memory and trauma. Captivating and thought-provoking, it is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions, raising questions about consent, complicity and victimhood.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
