Thank you for this review, particularly your take on the suffering. It is perfectly possible for people to empathise and imagine abuse and suffering without having to endure it through reading every detail. The rejection of any possible solution to pain was too much for me. I finished the book but would not recommend it.
I have started this book because I can’t stop thinking about it after seeing the play at the cinema and there were two monologues that Harold gave that I’d like to read as I can’t remember it verbatim. However I do agree and my friend and I both said the same that it drifted into unbelievable with the death of Willem- no one is that unlucky. And I felt it would’ve had a better impact to kill himself with having a current good, contented life- as in- he just couldn’t accept it and had to go. That would’ve worked better for me instead of ‘oh well there’s nothing left now’
Oo How does the book compare to the play? I’m not totally intent on seeing the play as I feel it will be missing the main reasons why I liked the book. That is a really good point though. I think Willelms end was a real tipping point for me in that sense. Jude dying despite things being ‘good’ for him does seem a lot more realistic and in line with what the book was trying to achieve. I wonder what the author says to this idea.
@@RecoveringBookSnob Thinking on it more after getting thru a third of the book, the three friends are definitely barely shown in the play and you don’t find yourself caring about them at all. Harold is a wonderful part tho (his wife is not in it) and Anna is through the play speaking to him and supporting him which I really liked. And one actor played all 3 evil men which was really clever and made sense and he altered his performance completely to be 3 separate baddies. Still thinking on it but really enjoying the book and all the gaps it fills - as in how he goes from abused teenager to lawyer - that’s not really explained in the play. (Or if it was, it was a quick line by Anna that I missed). Enjoyed your comments on this and your speaking voice is so lyrical. 🙂
I tried, but when things started to get descriptive, I found I didn't hate myself quite enough to keep reading. I'm right there with you for East of Eden though. I read that book every year, sometimes twice. Loving the channel. Keep going.
Totally get that. I wonder if I would have finished if it wasn’t a recommendation from a friend! East of Eden is exactly the book I had in mind when I said ‘there are plenty of other great books out there that you can read instead’. Will never understand why some people so vehemently insist that you ‘have’ to read A Little Life ! + Thanks for your encouragement, it means a lot :)
I loved A Little Life. I felt like it raised some good questions about what happiness is, is it for everyone, are some people just broken and can't be healed, is it fair to try and make someone keep living when they're suffering and can't get better, etc... I also related to Jude in many ways (though not including the abuse). I would read it again.
I have read it. Beautifully written but I found it almost impossibly and unrealistically painful. It really is torture porn. I don’t think reading should be something that people are scared of. I don’t think a novel should come with a trigger warning. I don’t think the description of Jude’s abuse is gratuitous however it’s the endless abuse did appear gratuitous and indeed pain porn.
It’s not torture porn! Ugh y’all just say things. The book never ONCE romanticize the trauma or torture he went through, it was told through a person who was completely broken and never got better, and this book shed a huge light on men specifically who have been subjected to child sexual abuse. And that he never ever gets better, and that’s the hard truth of the real world, that some ppl like Jude never ever get better Sometimes. And majority of the time men never talk about their own trauma. The book was intended to break you and make you feel everything Jude felt. ❤
@@amethystholguin9222 She asked for people’s opinions. That’s mine. What Jude was put through was excessive torture porn. You have a right to your opinion and I have a right to mine.
I loved A Little Life. I felt like it raised some good questions about what happiness is, is it for everyone, are some people just broken and can't be healed, is it fair to try and make someone keep living when they're suffering and can't get better, etc... I also related to Jude in many ways (though not including the abuse). I would read it again.
Thank you for this review, particularly your take on the suffering. It is perfectly possible for people to empathise and imagine abuse and suffering without having to endure it through reading every detail. The rejection of any possible solution to pain was too much for me. I finished the book but would not recommend it.
I have started this book because I can’t stop thinking about it after seeing the play at the cinema and there were two monologues that Harold gave that I’d like to read as I can’t remember it verbatim. However I do agree and my friend and I both said the same that it drifted into unbelievable with the death of Willem- no one is that unlucky. And I felt it would’ve had a better impact to kill himself with having a current good, contented life- as in- he just couldn’t accept it and had to go. That would’ve worked better for me instead of ‘oh well there’s nothing left now’
Oo How does the book compare to the play? I’m not totally intent on seeing the play as I feel it will be missing the main reasons why I liked the book.
That is a really good point though. I think Willelms end was a real tipping point for me in that sense. Jude dying despite things being ‘good’ for him does seem a lot more realistic and in line with what the book was trying to achieve. I wonder what the author says to this idea.
@@RecoveringBookSnob Thinking on it more after getting thru a third of the book, the three friends are definitely barely shown in the play and you don’t find yourself caring about them at all. Harold is a wonderful part tho (his wife is not in it) and Anna is through the play speaking to him and supporting him which I really liked. And one actor played all 3 evil men which was really clever and made sense and he altered his performance completely to be 3 separate baddies. Still thinking on it but really enjoying the book and all the gaps it fills - as in how he goes from abused teenager to lawyer - that’s not really explained in the play. (Or if it was, it was a quick line by Anna that I missed). Enjoyed your comments on this and your speaking voice is so lyrical. 🙂
I tried, but when things started to get descriptive, I found I didn't hate myself quite enough to keep reading. I'm right there with you for East of Eden though. I read that book every year, sometimes twice. Loving the channel. Keep going.
Totally get that. I wonder if I would have finished if it wasn’t a recommendation from a friend! East of Eden is exactly the book I had in mind when I said ‘there are plenty of other great books out there that you can read instead’. Will never understand why some people so vehemently insist that you ‘have’ to read A Little Life ! + Thanks for your encouragement, it means a lot :)
I loved A Little Life. I felt like it raised some good questions about what happiness is, is it for everyone, are some people just broken and can't be healed, is it fair to try and make someone keep living when they're suffering and can't get better, etc... I also related to Jude in many ways (though not including the abuse). I would read it again.
I have read it. Beautifully written but I found it almost impossibly and unrealistically painful. It really is torture porn. I don’t think reading should be something that people are scared of. I don’t think a novel should come with a trigger warning. I don’t think the description of Jude’s abuse is gratuitous however it’s the endless abuse did appear gratuitous and indeed pain porn.
It’s not torture porn! Ugh y’all just say things. The book never ONCE romanticize the trauma or torture he went through, it was told through a person who was completely broken and never got better, and this book shed a huge light on men specifically who have been subjected to child sexual abuse. And that he never ever gets better, and that’s the hard truth of the real world, that some ppl like Jude never ever get better Sometimes. And majority of the time men never talk about their own trauma. The book was intended to break you and make you feel everything Jude felt. ❤
@@amethystholguin9222 She asked for people’s opinions. That’s mine. What Jude was put through was excessive torture porn. You have a right to your opinion and I have a right to mine.
I loved A Little Life. I felt like it raised some good questions about what happiness is, is it for everyone, are some people just broken and can't be healed, is it fair to try and make someone keep living when they're suffering and can't get better, etc... I also related to Jude in many ways (though not including the abuse). I would read it again.
that is Very harmful