Books to read after A Little Life

Why read this: If you can't get enough of Hanya Yanagihara's emotive, transcendent storytelling, then the best thing to do is just to read more of it. To Paradise, published seven years after A Little Life, is a true epic in three parts. We are taken from an alternate nineteenth-century America, where people may live and love as they want (or so it initially seems), to a 1993 Manhattan besieged by the AIDS epidemic, and finally towards the end of our current century, where 2093's America has been torn apart by plagues and is governed by totalitarian rule. To Paradise re-emphasises what we already know from A Little Life: Hanya Yanagihara truly understands the very human desire to protect those we love, and the pain that ensues when we cannot.

If you’re looking for: LGBTQ+ fiction, stories about family, alternate histories, literary dystopia, climate fiction, explorations of loss.

What the experts think: 'For those captivated by Yanagihara’s A Little Life, her next is equally gripping' – Telegraph. 'After the painfully affecting A Little Life, To Paradise gives us three stories far apart in space and time but each unique in their power to summon the joy and complexity of love, the pain of loss' The Observer

Why read this: Douglas Stuart's Booker Prize-winning debut is a gripping, sad, beautiful portrait of love, addiction and the ruthlessness of poverty. In 1980s Glasgow, Agnes Bain has been abandoned by her husband and, one by one, her children, who must escape her drinking in order to survive. Only Shuggie remains, dedicated to trying to help his mother, and trying his hardest to be 'normal' like the other boys. 

If you’re looking for: Heartbreak, lyrical writing, prize-winning books, books set in the 80s, Scottish fiction, books about family, mother/son relationships.

What the experts think: 'All that grief and sadness and misery has been turned into something tough, tender and beautifully sad' –The Times. 'I love a heartbreak book but there is so much love within this one' – Dua Lipa, singer and founder of the Service95 book club.

Why read this: Garth Greenwell explores the ways our pasts and cultures and our scars and shames can shape who we are and how we love. An American teacher in Bulgaria starts an increasingly intimate and strange relationship with a young hustler called Mitko, and struggles to understand both his desire and the distress it causes him. 

If you’re looking for: Introspection, emotional vulnerability, books about identity, beautiful writing, LGBTQ+ books.

What the experts think: 'A searching and compassionate meditation on the slipperiness of desire . . . as beautiful and vivid as poetry' – Hanya Yanagihara, author of A Little Life

Why read this: This extraordinary book has sold over four million copies worldwide. It's a story of human resilience in desperate circumstances, as two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, each try to survive in war-torn France. Hugely different in age, temperament, opinions and circumstance, they take disparate paths towards possible freedom and love. 

If you’re looking for: Untold stories, an emotional journey, human resilience, complex characters, moral dilemmas, Second World War. 

What the experts think: ‘A rich, compelling novel of love, sacrifice and survival’ – Kate Morton, author of Homecoming

Why read this: This is also a gut-wrenching book about four friends, grief, and falling apart. However, in Thirst Trap we're in Belfast, not New York City, the friends are women, and it's very, very funny. Lydia's bedroom has remained untouched since she died. Her flatmates, Maggie, Harley and Róise, are still grieving, their last fight hanging over them, but unaddressed since the accident. The three of them are on the brink, but whether of triumph or catastrophe remains to be seen. Maybe they're just finally growing up. But there's some unravelling to do first. 

If you’re looking for: Irish fiction, female friendships, grief, house share, humour, a new literary voice, complex characters.

What the experts think: 'Thirst Trap contains the whole spectrum of what we might mean by witty writing, from light to dark, from bitter to sweet, often on the same page’ Garrett Carr, author of The Boy From the Sea

Why read this: It's called healing fiction for a reason. If A Little Life has left you in need of a restorative read, this moving yet gentle series could be just what you're after. In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time and perhaps do something a little bit differently. This opportunity is not without risks. Customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold.

If you’re looking for: Healing fiction, translated fiction, time travel, contemplative reads.

What the experts think: ‘The way it approaches topics like loss is so gentle, so quiet, and so unassuming [. . .] I felt safe within the pages’ @sivanreads 

Why read this: This life-affirming cosy fantasy novel is sure to gladden your broken heart after A Little Life, and also features found family, but in a very different setting. When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own sparsely-attended funeral, Wallace is outraged. But when Hugo, owner of a most peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace reluctantly accepts the truth. As Wallace drinks tea with Hugo and talks to his customers, he wonders if he was missing something when he was alive. So when he’s given one week to pass through the door to the other side, he sets about living a lifetime in just seven days.

If you’re looking for: Found family, cosy fantasy, warm-hearted reads, LGBTQ+ fantasy.

What the experts think: 'A modern fairy tale about learning your true nature and what you love and will protect' – Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse series. 'A kind book, full of faith in the goodness of people' Cassandra Khaw, author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth

Why read this: And now for something completely different. For an out-and-out 180 degree palate cleanser, you'll find nothing better than Casey McQuiston's crowd-pleasing romcom. This high concept romance (the son of the American President hates the Prince of Wales, then falls in love with the Prince of Wales, and they have to keep it a secret) is a joyful read with appealing characters, genuine laughs and a happy ending. 

If you’re looking for: Romantic comedy, LGBTQ+ romance, enemies to lovers, bisexual representation, secret romance. 

What the experts think: 'Red, White and Royal Blue is outrageously fun. It is romantic, sexy, witty, and thrilling. I loved every second.' Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones & The Six

The special anniversary edition of A Little Life is out now, featuring artwork by acclaimed artists RF. Alvarez and Linus Borgo, painted in response to the book, and a Q&A with Hanya Yanagihara.

JB, Jude, Malcolm and Willem. Four young men move to New York broke, adrift and buoyed only by friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem; the sardonic painter JB; Malcolm, a frustrated architect; and Jude, brilliant and enigmatic – their centre of gravity.