Matt Bomer to voice 10th anniversary edition of divisive queer novel A Little Life

Actor Matt Bomer is ramping up his campaign to become Hollywood’s go-to gay trauma guy. He’s set to voice a new audiobook version of Hanya Yanagihara’s critically-lauded, socially-divisive novel, A Little Life.

Widely dubbed a modern day literary classic, Yanagihara’s A Little Life follows four friends living in New York, tracing them from their post college days into their fifties. 

There’s queer visual artist JB, gay actor Willem, straight architect Malcolm, and gay litigator Jude, the latter of whom experiences extreme, life-long trauma including – spoiler alert – physical, verbal, and sexual abuse. As a result, he suffers from extreme depression and frequent self harm.

Matt Bomer, who has appeared in plenty of queer-led films, TV series and shows including Fellow Travelers, The Boys in the Band, Maestro, and Will & Grace, said that reading the book “changed [him] as a person”.

“I was truly, deeply moved to be asked to read Hanya’s brilliant, heartbreaking, and timeless novel,” Bomer told Vulture.

“It’s a book that I’ve been fascinated with since I first heard about it, and having the opportunity to bring these characters to life was both a profound responsibility for me and a chance to fall in love with her work all over again.

“It’s a piece that, for me at least, changed me as a person after I read it – and what more can we ask for in art?”

Bomer went on to share that he had to have “walking breaks” to “clear [his] head” while recording the audiobook, which is being released in February to mark the novel’s ten-year anniversary. 

“It was truly a labor of love for all of us. Suffice it to say we were motivated, moved and, at times, undone by Hanya’s sheer genius.”

The actor has also voiced the audiobooks for James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room and Trent Preszler’s Little And Often, both of which explore themes of alienation and rejection of queer people.

Yanagihara praised Bomer as “an actor of great generosity, beauty, and depth”, adding that his voice adds “new dimensions” to her original work.

A Little Life is seen as one of the most contentious novels released in the 21st century, due to its dealings with extreme and often explicit abuse and self-harm. While it’s been regarded by many critics as a masterpiece, others have dubbed it “trauma porn”.

On GoodReads, the novel is approaching 800,000 reviews, with an average of 4.31 out of five stars.

Yanagihara has also previously rejected the criticism that she, as a woman, should not write about gay men’s lives.

“It’s very dangerous,” she told The Guardian in 2022. “I have the right to write about whatever I want. The only thing a reader can judge is whether I have done so well or not.”

In 2023, the book was adapted into a stage show in London, starring Happy Valley’s James Norton as Jude. However, it arrived to a lukewarm reception.

Once he’s done weeping his way through A Little Life, leading man Matt Bomer can look forward to a little light relief: his Golden Girls-inspired queer comedy Mid-Century Modern, which also stars Nathan Lane, is currently in the works.