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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
so. this book. i heard of it from a new york times article because i was looking for new books to read and it was listed as one of six "long, absorbing books to get you through vacation". vacation, quarantine, same thing. so i bought it, and read it, and now here i am, staring at my ceiling wishing i was asleep so i didn't have to be conscious of the fact that i'm alive!
actually, i cried so hard particularly during the last two sections of this book (dear comrade and lispenard street) that it took me three tries to read the last page. i then went to the bathroom and stuck my hands under cold running water for 5 minutes for absolutely no reason, i took twice as much sleep medicine as i'm supposed to (they're just gummy vitamins from target, don't worry), and then i hyperventilated myself to sleep.
anyway.
aside from how heartbreaking this book was, if i try and think past that, it really is amazing. the writing was good enough to keep me reading all 700something pages (even though i had to put it down multiple times just because of content). i love stories about friendship and found families, and the characters were something else. i don't think i have words to describe how much i love jude, and willem, and harold; andy, and richard, and malcolm. JB is a different story. but this book really was a little life, and when i finished it, i felt like i had lived it. if i think too hard about it i'll also have to confront my own mortality so we'll stop there.
all in all, i finished this book yesterday and have already spent the past 24 hours in a daze. a little life was captivating and devastating, and while i appreciate that it exists and was something i got to read, a part of me wishes i could go back to that right-before moment, where it sat on my bookshelf unopened, and it was full of possibility but i didn't feel like dissolving into space.
actually, i cried so hard particularly during the last two sections of this book (dear comrade and lispenard street) that it took me three tries to read the last page. i then went to the bathroom and stuck my hands under cold running water for 5 minutes for absolutely no reason, i took twice as much sleep medicine as i'm supposed to (they're just gummy vitamins from target, don't worry), and then i hyperventilated myself to sleep.
anyway.
aside from how heartbreaking this book was, if i try and think past that, it really is amazing. the writing was good enough to keep me reading all 700something pages (even though i had to put it down multiple times just because of content). i love stories about friendship and found families, and the characters were something else. i don't think i have words to describe how much i love jude, and willem, and harold; andy, and richard, and malcolm. JB is a different story. but this book really was a little life, and when i finished it, i felt like i had lived it. if i think too hard about it i'll also have to confront my own mortality so we'll stop there.
all in all, i finished this book yesterday and have already spent the past 24 hours in a daze. a little life was captivating and devastating, and while i appreciate that it exists and was something i got to read, a part of me wishes i could go back to that right-before moment, where it sat on my bookshelf unopened, and it was full of possibility but i didn't feel like dissolving into space.
this book made me mentally unstable but I loved seeing the relationships between the characters unfold in each stage of their lives
Started this freshman year of college when I was mentally unwell and finished when I was mentally stable. Best decision ever
Although this could be the most depressing novel I’ve ever read, I have never read something where the characters come more alive. You do really feel like you know them inside and out and have been beside them the entire time they grow up during this novel. They will stay with you like friends you truly met and knew.
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
This was devastating. But also good. And sad. And anger-inducing. And heartbreaking. And lovely isn’t the right word, but some kind of beautiful.
a pesar de haber tardado la vida en terminármelo, nunca en la vida dejare de recomendarlo como un libro que si o si tienes que leerte. este libro me marcó para siempre. Jude y Willem tienen mi corazón