A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (high quality)

Prepare yourself for a work that will astonish, challenge, unsettle, and profoundly move you—a novel of love and friendship in the twenty-first century that journeys into some of the darkest realms ever explored in fiction, yet, in a remarkable twist, breaks through to the light. Truly, it is a marvel—one of immense value to its publisher.

In this epic tale, four classmates from a modest Massachusetts college venture to New York in search of their futures. They arrive penniless and adrift, their only support being their enduring friendship and shared ambition. There is Willem, the kind and handsome aspiring actor; JB, the sharp-witted, occasionally cruel painter from Brooklyn seeking entry into the art world; Malcolm, the frustrated architect at a prestigious firm; and Jude, the brilliant and enigmatic figure who serves as their unwavering center.

As the decades pass, their relationships evolve—deepening and darkening, marked by addiction, success, and pride. Yet, it becomes increasingly clear that their greatest challenge is Jude himself. By midlife, Jude has become a formidable litigator, yet remains a broken man, his body and mind ravaged by an unspeakable childhood and haunted by the fear that the depth of his trauma is not something he can overcome but will forever define his existence.

In prose both rich and resplendent, Hanya Yanagihara weaves a tragic and transcendent ode to brotherly love. It is a masterful portrayal of heartbreak, a profound exploration of the tyranny of memory, and a dark meditation on the limits of human endurance