A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara Doubleday | 720 pages

If you haven’t yet read this book I urge you to pick it up immediately – don’t be put off by its imposing length, as you’ll be consumed by it for the entire 720 pages.

Shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize, this profoundly moving novel narrates the lives and friendships of four young men who meet at college in Massachusetts and move to New York to build their careers. They come from differing backgrounds and initially struggle to establish themselves in their chosen careers: Willem is an aspiring actor whose parents were simple farmers; JB is the son of Haitian immigrants and wishes to break into the art world; Malcolm is a would-be architect with wealthy, bi-racial parents. Little is known about Jude’s childhood – he is enigmatic, sidestepping questions about his past and alluding to his prominent limp as the result of a car “injury” rather than an “accident”.

As the book progresses, all four become wildly successful ( perhaps improbably so, but this enhances rather than detracts from the story) and the focus narrows on to Jude. There are hints at the dark secrets in his past and, as the abuse and suffering he has experienced is gradually revealed, the graphic descriptions are shocking. Without giving too much away, the traumatic events of Jude’s childhood have clearly shaped his adult character, leading to his feelings of worthlessness, self-disgust and episodes of self-harm. Just when you think he can’t endure any more, the book takes yet another dark turn – bringing me to tears on more than one occasion.

It’s a challenging read, which has been described as “bleak, disturbing and harrowing” and, while it is certainly all of those things, it’s also a powerful story of love and enduring friendships that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading.