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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Dysphoria
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Almost everybody I know described 'A Little Life' as the most beautiful book they have read but which they will not recommend to anyone. Did I really want to put myself through 700 pages of misery- there was only one way to find out.
The book started well. JB, Wilhem, Malcom, Jude sprang full born into the book. Four friends straight out of college, they had dreams in their eyes, educational loans to pay off, and they had each other. I was looking forward to seeing how each of them evolved individually and together, but gradually the focus of the book shifted to Jude, and to how the others interacted with Jude, and the book got darker. Self harm, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional manipulation, domestic violence, thoughts of suicide, death- every trigger warning played out unrelentingly like a JCB determined to knock down your defences. But somehow, the book didn't even come close to breaking me.
The primary thought I had was of anger. Anger at a person who so badly needed help yet refused to accept it even when it was offered. Yes, I felt horror at a childhood as abusive as the one Jude had endured, yet there was anger because even after years of being offered unconditional love he thoughtlessly hurt those who loved him the most. Yes, obviously childhood trauma continues well into adulthood and Jude deserved credit for not perpetrating the cycle of cruelty, but wasn't he being cruel to himself by turning all the trauma inwards and wasn't he causing deep hurt to the people who's offers to help he shunned?
when he agreed to have sex with Wilhem, for instance, it was not because he wanted Wilhem to be happy, but because he was scared Wilhem would leave him if he didn't. Did he pause to think of how horrible Wilhem would feel when he understood that he was indirectly responsible for Jude cutting himself more?
The story is about how childhood trauma persists well into adulthood, but I persisted with the book because I was hoping for a resolution that never came. In my opinion, the book would have been far less tedious had it been half its current length. How many times and in how many ways can Jude hurt himself and the very people who give him nothing but love? Yes, JB is slightly self obsessed, but did there have to be two instances where he hurts Jude, both with the same consequences and similar (non) resolutions?
I may be a minority of one, but I didn't find the book beautiful. It was merely tedious.
The book started well. JB, Wilhem, Malcom, Jude sprang full born into the book. Four friends straight out of college, they had dreams in their eyes, educational loans to pay off, and they had each other. I was looking forward to seeing how each of them evolved individually and together, but gradually the focus of the book shifted to Jude, and to how the others interacted with Jude, and the book got darker. Self harm, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional manipulation, domestic violence, thoughts of suicide, death- every trigger warning played out unrelentingly like a JCB determined to knock down your defences. But somehow, the book didn't even come close to breaking me.
The primary thought I had was of anger. Anger at a person who so badly needed help yet refused to accept it even when it was offered. Yes, I felt horror at a childhood as abusive as the one Jude had endured, yet there was anger because even after years of being offered unconditional love he thoughtlessly hurt those who loved him the most. Yes, obviously childhood trauma continues well into adulthood and Jude deserved credit for not perpetrating the cycle of cruelty, but wasn't he being cruel to himself by turning all the trauma inwards and wasn't he causing deep hurt to the people who's offers to help he shunned?
The story is about how childhood trauma persists well into adulthood, but I persisted with the book because I was hoping for a resolution that never came. In my opinion, the book would have been far less tedious had it been half its current length. How many times and in how many ways can Jude hurt himself and the very people who give him nothing but love? Yes, JB is slightly self obsessed, but did there have to be two instances where he hurts Jude, both with the same consequences and similar (non) resolutions?
I may be a minority of one, but I didn't find the book beautiful. It was merely tedious.
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was highly recommended all over social media but I didn’t enjoy it. It was, in my opinion, trauma porn. Everything bad that could happen to an individual happened to them. It was hard to get through. I did stop reading when I only had about 75 pages left because another horrible trauma happened and it just felt like the same thing by was happening for 500+ pages
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have been crying for two hours, I don’t know how to continue, I am heartbroken
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes