Take a photo of a barcode or cover
But at the same time, it gets so dark and in so. much. detail. Does the writing deserve above my rating, five stars even? Yes. But is it a book I'd ever recommend to anyone? No. It's like recommending Requiem for A Dream—it's well done, but you'd be a total asshole to the other person by telling them to read/watch it.
I'm not a wuss when it comes to sad stories. I love them. I'm on a constant hunt for the next devastating book, movie, or TV show. But in A Little Life, I not only met my match, I was absolutely destroyed. Even I had to at one point say: "Enough. You've made your point that things are awful and hopeless. Move on." It's not difficult to finish because it's boring (it's not), it's soul-crushing. And in a sadistic way that often feels like it wasn't necessary.
So, read at your own discretion.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Self harm
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Abandonment
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Sexual harassment
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
- it's racist (not just according to the characters or to set the tone for the time period... it's weird writing about the black vs. white struggle as an Asian woman who has done no research on the subject....)
- they measure success by very classist metrics
- All it seems to protray is that life=suffering and then you die (hopefully sooner rather than later)
- its portrayal of gay men is so, so bad that they should've just not
- there is no point. Authors purpose?? Certainly not for pleasure. Or education or enjoyment or advertisement.
- it romanticizes abuse and trauma and self harm and suffering. This book is just one love letter to suffering. It even teaches you how to do it, and goes into excessively gruesome detail for far too long for it to just be inform a reader by utilizing shock value... it often fetishizes it, interlacing these scenes with sexual desire and/or eroticism
- it's repetitive. Like Jesus christ 400 pages is just recounting of Jude's past. This book didn't need to be 814 pages.
- because of how long and repetitive it is i was bored for a little. Like I'd never thought I'd get so bored reading incredibly detailed and gross accounts of abuse. But I did. I strolled through it, barely batting an eye, yawning.
infuriating, pointless, abusive, disrespectful, abhorrent, divisive, weaponized, trash
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Los personajes sin duda son realistas, tienen sus fallos y carencias como cualquier persona real y te ves inmersa en sus vidas, en sus historias, en ocasiones enfadándote con ellos pero como última instancia deseando que les vaya bien. El cast principal (cuatro amigos de la universidad) es entrañable, enfocándose sobre todo en uno de ellos, que acaba siendo punto focal de todo.
En cuanto a la narrativa (sin entrar en muchos detalles) se cuenta cómo estos amigos superan dificultades varias (personales, laborales, académicas...) y poco a poco van encaminado sus propias vidas en un camino no siempre tan concreto.
He de destacar que no es una novela para espíritus frágiles; los temas que llega a abordar son serios, desagradables, hasta el punto de ser horrorizantes. Parte del porqué es un libro que es lento de leer es por las dificultades emocionales que puede llegar a despertar en el lector. Así que recomendaría leerla teniendo en cuenta todos los puntos mencionados anteriormente.
Para concluír la reseña, sólo puedo decir que es una historia que deja huella. Es compleja y su impacto en los lectores también es difícil de expresar. A pesar de que a grandes rasgos sea una novela con cierto sabor amargo creo que merece ser leída, ser contada, al menos ser recordada.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Dementia, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail