Description "Even a life beyond imagining is still a life—please let it be called one." The story of one man's life that captivated readers around the world ★ Shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize and National Book Award ★ Winner of the Kirkus Prize Named a "Book of the Year" by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Guardian, The Economist, and 25 other publications About the Book A sweeping, storm-like narrative spanning a thousand pages The most talked-about book of the 2015 Man Booker Prize "The best way to introduce this novel is with the well-worn phrase: you simply cannot put it down. No other description better captures a novel that terrifies and unsettles readers even as it utterly captivates them." —The Kirkus Prize Committee A Little Life, shortlisted for both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award—two of the most prestigious literary awards in the English-speaking world—and named a "Book of the Year" by 25 publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal, has now been published in Korean. Even before its award nominations, the novel had already spread by word of mouth among readers, with reviews like: "I stayed up all night reading it," "This is the first novel I wished were even longer than a thousand pages," "I had to stop reading several times because I was crying," "Shocking and heartbreaking," and "I dreamed about this novel every night while reading it." After being shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the book received an outpouring of supportive comments on its website—an unusual show of passionate reader support. A Little Life tells the story of Jude, a secretive man carrying the trauma of horrific childhood abuse and violence. Because of its unflinching and provocative subject matter, it also became one of the most controversial books among the judges. Remarkably for a contemporary novel, summaries and reading guides have emerged, over 40,000 readers have rated it 4 stars or higher on Goodreads, and actress Rooney Mara (of Carol) has recommended it as one of her favorite books. Even more than a year after publication, it continues to resonate deeply with readers everywhere. "A novel that dares to face the darkness of life" The story of one man's life that captivated readers around the world "In the trash bag: eggshells, wilted lettuce, spoiled spaghetti, and you." —from the text Four college friends—Willem, Malcolm, JB, and Jude—begin their adult lives in New York, each chasing their own dreams. Willem is an actor, Malcolm an architect, JB a painter, and Jude, the protagonist, a lawyer with a secretive and painful past. Despite his good looks and brilliant mind, Jude has been full of secrets and low self-esteem since his college days—yet his friends love and accept him exactly as he is. They don't know why he limps, why the scars on his arms and back never seem to heal, what his childhood was like, or whether he has any family—but because it makes Jude uncomfortable, they never ask. In truth, Jude was abandoned in a trash bag at birth and suffered horrific abuse growing up in a monastery. At age nine, he escaped with the help of a monk, only to find that the world outside was even more terrifying than the monastery had been. Later, in his late teens, a social worker helped him get into college, and from there, his life transformed completely from the horrors of his past—"as if life itself were begging his forgiveness." Surrounded by friends he loves, Jude experiences an almost unbelievable happiness. But as this happiness—something he never once believed could belong to him—grows, so too do the memories of his past grow sharper, mocking and condemning the man he has become. The greater the gap between his past suffering and present happiness, the harder his life becomes to bear. Where does the hell of a life end, and where does its happiness begin? This novel portrays a man who tried to rise above the injustice of the life he was given—a man who had to destroy himself in order to survive—and refuses even the smallest glimmer of hope, forcing readers to confront the pain of life head-on. Hanya Yanagihara: A Writer Who Defies Prediction and Provokes the World "I wanted to capture all the pain, fear, and love of life within the stories of these four men." —Hanya Yanagihara Praised by critics as "a brutal masterpiece," A Little Life holds readers until the very last page...