A Little Life Screenplay by Hanya Yanigahara and Ivo Van Hove

 

A Little Life follows the complex relationships of four college friends in New York City: Willem, an actor; Malcolm, an architect; JB, an artist; and, at the centre of their group, Jude, a lawyer.

Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, changed by ambition, addiction and pride. Yet their greatest challenge is Jude himself, whose secrets – and shame – define not just his own life, but that of his friends as well.

A bruising and beautiful story of love, the limits of human endurance, and the tyranny of memory, Hanya Yanagihara's novel A Little Life has sold over a million copies and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Women's Prize for Fiction.

The stage adaptation – conceived by Ivo van Hove, and adapted by Koen Tachelet, van Hove and Yanagihara herself – was first performed in a Dutch-language production at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam in the Netherlands in 2018, before transferring to New York in 2022. This English-language version opened in London's West End in 2023, directed by Ivo van Hove and with a cast led by James Norton as Jude.

After absolutely falling in love with Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life, I was waiting for my husband to have an MRI scan when an email popped up announcing the Screenplay. I quite obviously dived straight over to Nick Hern Books and preordered it without a second thought.

The screenplay is quite different to the book in the sense of its not as long, there are many details left out (which is obvious, they can’t squeeze a 25 million page book into a 3 hour stage show). But it took nothing away from the main focus on the storyline whatsoever. I haven’t seen the stage show as I’m faaaar away from London (sunny old Newcastle), but I really want to see it when it comes to the cinema. If you followed me reading A Little Life Novel, you’ll know how much I love it and that it’s pretty much my favourite book I’ve ever read. You get every single emotion possible while reading it. I didn’t cry reading the screenplay, but I did get emotional and slightly misty eyed. I feel the stageshow would be amazing though.

Again, thanks Hanya for destroying my soul, and thanks to Ivo Van Hove and Koen Tachelet for bringing the screenplay into my life.

Keep It in the Family by John Marrs

 

Mia and Finn are busy turning a derelict house into their dream home when Mia unexpectedly falls pregnant. But just when they think the house is ready, Mia discovers a shocking message scored into a skirting board: I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC. Following the clue up into the eaves, the couple make a gruesome discovery: their home was once a real-life murder house, with the evidence still concealed within the four walls. In the wake of their traumatic discovery, the baby arrives and Mia can't shake her fixation with the monstrous crimes that happened right above them. Tormented by the terrible things she saw, she is desperate to dig into the past to find answers. Secrecy shrouds the mystery of the attic, but when shards of a dark truth start to emerge, Mia realises the danger is terrifyingly present. She is prepared to do anything to protect her family-but will the previous tenants stop her from discovering their secret?

This was my first John Marrs book and oh my god it most certainly will not be my last! What a bloody good writer this guy is! 

So as you can tell I loved it, I wasn’t creeped out by it like I thought I would have been, but it was weird as hell. I liked Mia, I felt so bad for her throughout the whole story. I loved the little clues along the way, and I don’t think I really guessed the ending until it was right under my nose. It was so intense at times, gruesome, and brilliant. I’m looking forward to getting round to another of his books soon!

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

 

Mallory is delighted to have a new job looking after gorgeous four-year-old, Teddy. She's been sober for a year and a half and she's sure her new nannying role in the affluent suburbs will help keep her on the straight and narrow.

That is until Teddy starts to draw disturbing pictures of his imaginary friend, Anya. It is quite clear to Mallory and to Teddy's parents, even in his crude childlike style, that the woman Teddy is drawing in his pictures is dead.

Teddy's crayons are confiscated, and his paper locked away. But the drawings somehow keep coming, telling a frightening story of a woman murdered... and they're getting more sophisticated. But if Teddy isn't drawing the pictures anymore, who is? And what are they trying to tell Mallory about her new home?

I’d seen this book everywhere, and a couple of my good thriller loving book pals loved it, so I knew I had to get on it. Boy this book did not disappoint! From the start I was intrigued, wondering what was going to happen. Pretty quickly things start to shake up, and a few different characters crop up. I loved Mallory, and Teddy was a little cutie. Well until he became freaky teddy and drew those creepy pictures. I also loved the cabin where Mallory was staying in the family’s back yard, a lovely little retreat to relax and spend time to herself. 

So to show you how much this book scared me, I woke at 4am one morning and couldn't sleep so I carried on reading my ebook in the dark. I started to drift off to sleep so I closed my eyes. I breathed on my own arm, and nearly jumped out of bed with fright!! Freaked out was an understatement!

One thing I have to say is well done to the illustrators Will Staehle and Doogie Horner, those pictures throughout were scary as hell, and added so much to the story.

I love a good thriller and this is definitely up there with the best ones, so if you haven’t read it I would recommend it!