It’s actually so fun and once you get hooked reading can start distracting you if you don’t make yourself a plan , I remember not studying what’s supposed to be studied just so I can study books ...
I read those last 100 pages on a plane. It was A MISTAKE. I didn’t know it was going to be so bad. Hostesses came to comfort me, it was a whole thing. I don’t recommend being outside your home when reading this!
Louise Pétrouchka I’ve never read this book. I also don’t plan on reading it, because it could trigger the fuck out of me. But the moment your talking about is like a rule of thumb for drama shows. When I first got into the walking dead (in 2016) I went in strong. And one of my favorite characters died. I watched that episode while I was on campus. Internally cried, because I watched said episode right before a class. And then I texted one of my cousins about said episode. Her immediate response: “why did you watch this episode in public? You never watch the walking dead in public” You may be asking yourself why? The answer is simple. The walking dead makes you care about people during a zombie apocalypse. But..it’s a zombie apocalypse. All the shit happens.
Its those small moments where Jude thinks to himself that he doesn't deserve anything good or happiness because he thinks he is dirty and deformed. It broke my heart everytime he thought this.
I read this a month ago and I still remember it even now. I tried finding books that could hit the same level of raw emotion but so far nothing has come even close.
@@pochi8846 honestly, I would say no. The main reason everyone’s read is because of this weird trauma bonding type “this book emotionally destroyed me, you have to read it too”. If you’re really interested go for it, but it’s very triggering so be very very wary
@@pochi8846 it’s my favourite book. It is very triggering but the trauma totally pulls you into the story and makes you care about the characters. If you can handle the high emotions then I’d recommend it.
It broke my heart every time Jude apologized for something he had no control over. He always felt he had to apologize for just being him, even in the end.
I hadnt felt like I did with The Book Thief until I read this book, and the last 20 pages made me feel even worse than the book thief, so yeah. Still the two are on my top 5 for sure.
Finally someone talked about this. The Book Thief was so cruel. The whole book and some specific scenes laid out and heartbreaking. The last part was :""(
Okay so my trick for reading on college especially since I have adhd and it’s recommend to me to study this way, 20 minutes study (time it don’t touch ur phone at all) and 1 chapter (as long as the chapter is crazy Lon if so or no chapters 10 minutes) reading break
Reading this book as someone who has gone through sexual abuse as a teenager, physical and mental abuse from a parent, and over 10 years of self harm addiction and suicide attempts, I have never read something that I've been able to connect with a character on this level. This book is not trauma porn, it is a beautifully accurate representation of how trauma erodes your mental state, and leaves lasting scares that makes every single relationship you have in your life a challenge. this book will stay with me forever x
@@chrismyers4177 i feel like the people who call it that also just don't really understand that people can go through NUMEROUS traumas throughout their life and not just one or a few things
honestly i did not cry for the huge parts because a lot of them came so quickly, but for the small things, just like you, i did. especially with “willem watching jude tell a story.” i was mostly shocked during the bigger parts.
I remember the first time I cried was in the ending of the section of when we get Harold's narrate for the first time and when the section ends with the line " and after that, you have nothing to fear again". God I bawled my eyes out.
forced myself to start and finish this before finals. i really didnt think I'd cry so much but throughout and by the end of this: i realized i wasnt crying for the characters, i was also crying for my own life and trauma. i saw myself written in this, and by grieving the characters, i grieved myself too. i feel cleansed.
This was exactly how I felt too! I thought a lot of the things Jude was thinking at one point and Willems words of comfort made me feel comforted too. But everything after, destroyed me. Made me feel a bit helpless. I felt like Harold in those final moments. Everything he said and felt, gosh
I felt just the same way, I was crying because never ever a character felt just in the way I felt for years, until Jude, he put my feelings in words and actions, and I understand the choice he make at the final 💕😭🥺
I have been looking for a comment like this. I've felt crazy... I did cry... But it was tears of understanding and relief and feeling known. Only in pieces.
@@matt7352 the last four pages just destroyed me, maybe its cause of that one scene described by Harold. but yeah it was a wild ride and I would not read the books ever again in my life
@@rileslord1082 just finished it. That finale destroyed me, I wasn’t crying but I definitely was fighting back tears. Tough read. Harold outliving everyone, that one paragraph alone geez
I'm surprised you didn't include Andy in the list of characters you really cared about (Harold, Willem, Jude). I finished A Little Life about a month ago and Andy was definitely one of my favorite characters and I loved his loyalty to Jude
spoilers * * * same - i didnt cry until the mention of Andy’s sudden death due to a heart attack at one of the last pages. He was so close to retiring and enjoying life and i KNOW he blames himself for Jude so bruh Andy’s death is what got me
Oh really? I’m 14 and I bought the book out of pure curiosity... Am I supposed to just put it aside and wait till I grow up? I’m scared and I think I shouldn’t have bought it. 😔
@@aztre I mean, it's a really, I cannot stress this enough, really tough read. I'd say that's a question you really have to ask yourself. Check out the content warnings in the description and don't feel bad putting it down if it gets to be too much.
me: has 3 essays and projects due in 5 hours, hasn't socialized in weeks Kat: uploads a video my brain: don't watch it do you have no life me: a little life? I'll leave
I just finished reading and I didn't cry... Till I reached Dear Comrade, after that, I couldn't stop crying, I couldn't stop reading, so I just read until I reached the end. I WAS SOBBING Y'ALL My eyes where swollen when I woke up the next day bc I fell asleep while crying.
@@fiamapuccini276 * SPOILERS * Yes! I actually felt like everybody was lying about how sad the book was! I too thought it was horrifying, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. The only time I had to put the book down because I just couldn't keep reading was when Caleb was beating up Jude, I just felt extremely distressed and really scared for him, I had to take a moment. At one point I started reading the following pages just to be sure he survived. I kinda knew too what was going to happen with Jude. I knew the author wasn't going to tell us his whole story, show us all of his fears and doubts make us love him, and then miraculously save him. I was prepared myself for that from the beginning, but watching him suffer after the accident was what broke me. It was incredible devastating. I just kept remembering all the things that Willem did for him and how much he loved Jude. How Malcolm always did his best to keep Jude safe in his own house, always trying to give his best the homes they deserved. And Poor Harold, who had to experience again losing a son. I don't know why the part when he and Julia found the letter and the CD affected me so much, maybe because it was something I had forgotten and that seemed ages ago, or because when Jude hide it, it was because he felt like it was something that wasn't worth much, when in reality it would have meant everything to Harold and Julia. I don't regret it also, but I don't think I will read it again (or not for at least a couple of years) Edited to add: ALSO If you wanna talk more about the book (I know I wanted someone to talk about it too but unfortunately my friends don't read, so that's why I came here lol ) you can message me on goodreads, my username is anotherlovelygirl!
literalllly!!! i was waiting with almost bated breath and i surprised myself by making it nearly 80% through without crying. but then Dear Comrade came and all the crying i didn't do earlier, i made up for now and some.
I had never cried so hard at any piece of fictional media, much less a book. It just... came out of fucking nowhere. I was getting a bad feelings towards the end of a chapter and then... _fuck._
Me: Hasn't read the book. Kat: starts crying hysterically. Me: Starts crying because apparently I'm a weak little bitch and sadness is contagious. Also me: *Yeah, I'm gonna read this book.* Edit: I'm halfway through the book and I can't stop crying. I need some hugs. Edit 2: I finished this a month ago and I'm still not over it.
First of all, I want to say something that I haven’t seen in any other reviews: TRIGGER WARNINGS!!! This book is seriously so triggering it’s almost dangerous, I can’t believe that isn’t a big disclaimer before it stars. So, if these topics upset you (may I say it’s VERY graphic): sexual abuse, verbal abuse, child abuse, violence, self harm (in every way), torture, grooming, ptsd, rape, heavy trauma, anxiety, eating disorder, forced prostitution, human trafficking. Ok, now let’s go to the bad parts: I don’t think the author knew how to deal well with race. It tries too hard to display race and sometimes it’s almost offensive. (Like there’s two characters whose only purpose on the book is being black and asian, and they have the exact same name and the only way to differentiate they is calling them by their race) Some characters are left really plain after the first chapter. The book kinda of glorifies too much self harm, and the descriptions and the way it feels, is almost as if it was good (?) which I think it can be very dangerous since it doesn’t have trigger warnings. Now why I gave it 5 stars besides it all: Wow. I don’t cry. This is the first book that made me sob and laugh in a matter of pages. The first thing ever that made me cry out of joy and smile wider than my mouth. This made me cry almost everyday. And smile. And hope. The book that reintroduced me to reading, really. I lost completely my habit of reading which made me very sad, but I read this 720 page book in 2 weeks. I woke up thinking about this book. I slept thinking about it. I fell in love and genuinely cared for the characters. The first book I was really scared of it ending. I just wanted more and more. I stared at the wall for 2 hours after i finished. How it shows the path of healing is NOT a linear one. We fall, we rise, we go back, and forth. It’s hard. But it’s possible. It destroyed me and put me back together. I’ve learned so much. The ending wasn’t particularly good but it gave me closure. It really felt like i’ve lived a little life, a little life encapsulated by those pages. It was simply beautiful. If you’re looking for A Great Gay Novel: this is not for you If you’re looking for a hard heavy full on drama: this is not for you. If you’re looking for a bittersweet, tragic depiction of live: well, good luck my friend!
Thank you for this showing me the reality of this book, man! I really appreciate it, I've never prepared myself in reading a book before, just now, with this one.
is it naive to think that I may "accept" my own trauma by reading this book. (I know it's triggering but maybe it can be relatable in some messed up ways)
A Little Life is a very good portrait of a person permanently and severely damaged by horrific abuse. Not everyone who's been hurt can be healed. I didn't cry when I read it but it's stuck with me.
A Little Life is one of my favourite books, that said, it was profoundly painful that even thinking about it makes makes me cry. I remember watching an interview of Hanya's where she talked about why she wrote it and she said something about wanting to create a character who endures so much but doesn't get better and sort of trying to figure out what that would look like and how their life would be. And I thought that was so interesting to read a book about a character who never gets better. i definitely understand why people hate this book, i sometimes hate it too because of how painful it was to read, and i get the tragedy porn moniker. But it's also one my favourites because of hanya's writing and her ability to craft a story that makes me care so much about a character. I read it last year and i still thinking about jude and willem and jude making bread All The Time!
I juat finished this book, and when i read " i still think about Willem and Jude, and jude making bread" i cried with so much pain. This book is so much.
do you have a favourite quote from the book? I'm finally starting with this book and I always make a bookmark with quotes. So like, when I've finally reached that page, it'd be so special :D
I wanna read this but I’m the overly emotional child who will literally cry if the person who won Great British Bake Off cries. Yeah I’m that person, I’m very afraid.
so i went through this book in 4 days and i agree with everything you said, however it was extremely triggering for me. i usually gravitate towards darker pieces of art and i’m usually fine at the end of the day but this book was just too much. not because of, as you also found, things that happened to jude in the past but in the present. it depicts mental illness really well. maybe too well. i found myself reliving certain feelings with jude and that kinda woke something up in me that i’d buried deep within. words have power and this book seems like an abuse of that power. i get that the point of torture porn is to leave your audience feel beaten down but i think it’s important that one should use this power really carefully. anyways, i thought this was also an important note, although i know no one will see it
jo leaned not at all! it was definitely painful to read and the aftermath was also painful LOL but honestly i feel like it made me a better person. i don’t regret reading it at all. it’s one of if not the best book i’ve ever read!
for anyone wondering the content warnings are: sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, scary verbal abuse, psychological manipulation and gaslighting, kidnapping/imprisonment, many modes of self-harm, a violent accident, a few moments of prejudice against the disabled, drug use, addiction, grief and loss of a loved one.
the two major things i gathered from this video are: i need to get a dog who will lick my sad book-induced tears while i am weeping, and we need more vlogs of you reading a single book!!!
All I felt then was rage, I wanted to enter the universe and strangle Caleb. And then to hear similar sentiments from Andy and Harold it really felt like I had. I truly felt as if I was there, some invisible bystander pulling for Jude
i feel like i belong to the small amount of ppl who have not shed ONE single tear on this book. i found it the most heart breaking and drenching book and it has this beautiful, cruel, overwhelming way of breaking your heart into pieces. but i love that so much about it. idk why but i love the pain it gives me, it just makes me feel emotions which is hard for me as an individual to do (some of yall can probably relate). if something is making me so sad that i cant take it anymore, i cannot cry which is what happened to me reading this. i left my heart in this book. also i laughed so hard when you were not finished with the happy years yet and said "i think thats all the bad things, i dont think jude can take anything more" anyways - rlly enjoyed this vlog
there's so many moments where i just want to reach out to jude and comfort him whenever he has his bad thoughts. even though he had to deal with his trauma for years, i'm more moved by the support system that he still has for over 30 years or so, who are so loyal and loving to him, who just wants to see him get better. ultimately, this book teaches so much about family and friendship values that makes me glad knowing that jude got through more years than he would have if he didn't have that support from them.
just finished a little life today, literally had to take breaks every chapter from dear comrade and after bc it was too much. i wish i could erase the ending from my memory, honest to god. literally sobbed my mom had to come in and calm me down :(
becca !!! i didnt find it especially hard, honestly, i think youll be fine if youre used to more mature writing/fiction, but if you're more of a YA reader you might find it a bit wordy ☺️
Omg i finished it two days ago and I was the exact same. I had to take breaks because i couldn’t even read the words i was crying so hard and afterwards i went down to my family and just sobbed to them.
I’ve been thinking about reading this book for a while now and just stumbled upon your review. Very well done and let me just say thank you for being so raw and vulnerable and thank you so so SO much for the trigger warning list in the description.
I am eight months pregnant and I started this book earlier in the week and I can tell this was a horrible idea. I cried while watching The Voice the other day for gosh sakes, what am I thinking starting this?!
spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: - I didn’t find myself crying at this book until Willem’s death and that was mainly out of shock because I truly did not see it coming. After that I didn’t anticipate me crying at this book again as any other sad thing that would have happened I already anticipated and had already prepared myself for. But then as you said, I came to a heartbreaking line that shattered me completely, when Jude is in JBs gallery and sees the painting of Willem and he observes that in the painting Willem is clearly looking at something or someone that he loves and then JB points out the name of the art piece: “Willem listening to Jude tell a story” - It felt like it was finally Jude realising that Willem truly had loved him. It’s safe to say I sobbed,
i just finished this book and found this video cos i cant sleep after finishing it. your comment just shattered me again, that scene is just more heartbreaking to me now :(
@@lazedaisies it kept me awake as well, i still find myself thinking about the characters everyday like they’re my real friends, i don’t think i’ve ever been so attached to characters before in the sense that i just can’t forget them or let them go, such beautiful writing- but absolutely devastating all at once :(
Even after you typing three times "Spoiler Warning", I read the first line which was visible and yeah.. when I finished I felt that I shouldn't have known that
Willems death was the most shocking moment for me. I was prepared for death of Jude (I was scared that he will die in the first part of the book and the rest will be about the others reminiscing him and learning about his tragic history). So when Willem died… I perceived him like safe, warm character. And suddenly he was gone. The hardest part for me was the fact, that I can list few pages back and reread Willems parts of story, but Jude can’t. Jude lost him forever.
SPOILER WARNING I always wondered why Harold was the only character that switched to the first person. Was it because she planned, from the start, on ending Jude's life that way? And that the emotions were best conveyed directly through Harold? I don't know. But I always felt that Harold was the reader. What he felt, we felt. We were distanced from Jude in some ways but we rooted for him, we desperately wanted him to be happy even if we couldn't be his Willem, we wanted to see his story to the end, to hope till the end, like Harold had. That's just what I think.
I think it's because Harold was the only one left when all of the other characters were dead and he narrated his parts to the last portrait of Willem on the wall. Either way his chapters were so poignant.
Yes and even then there is a slight sense of discomfort from the term meant to mirror Jude's own dislike of the word (he asked Willem not to call him sweetheart or honey) because Brother Luke and some of the 'better' ('better' in Jude's childhood memory that is in that they weren't violent) clients called Jude by the term. So even the most heart-felt and sorrowful scene, Harold calling Jude 'sweetheart' makes the reader (or is it just me?) both recall and recoil as Jude does himself...it is a literary device on the part of the author, I think. It works to keep the destructive trauma and memories as ever present for both Jude and the reader.
Just finished it yesterday. Even though I anticipated what happened at the end of "The Happy Years" I basically sobbed throughout the whole of "Dear Comrade". Still, this is one of the best books that I've ever read.
Reading while giving exams is a chaotic chaotic thing and I commend you for actually completing the book (unlike me, who gets so absorbed into a book that studying is...eh, neglected 😅)
i’ve never heard of little life but after seeing the comments on this video and this video i’m terrified of this book. what happens in the book? no idea. i’m scared.
okay listen. LISTEN. this book is amazing but. BUT. it does come with a lot of trigger warnings and baggage so look those up before reading. otherwise, it's a beautiful book and if you cry over most books you should read this book along because i have only cried over books like twice in my life but i cried like eight times while reading a little life and i think i cried harder than kat during those last 100 pages. so. be careful!
Please I accidentally read the spoiler for the end and i freaking cried even though I was only like, a few hundred chapters in. WORST MISTAKE. But yes, amaziingg book!
I went from ‘maybe I should read this book’ to ‘nope never reading this’ when I saw the content warnings and heard your final review. Never the less, this was a great video!!
I finally read the book after I watched Kat’s vlog. Finished it a few days ago and I’m still not over it. How can a book be so beautiful and yet make you not want to keep reading and keep reading at the same time and be so heartbreaking ? I don’t think I’ll find a book quite like this again
I read this book totally blind. A friend said "you should read A Little Life" and I said "ok!" and picked it up from the library. After I finished it I texted her and let her know that she fully and completely ruined my LIFE with this book.
The fact that she makes them real people and makes you love them before bad things start to happen is actually very realistic - I think she’s trying to make a verisimilitude within you and your attachment to the characters After all, that’s the real pain, or a part of it, you would feel if bad things happened to your loved ones. You have to care because she’s trying to break you just like a real person would feel broken after seeing someone they knew their whole life suffering
This came at such a perfect time for me because I’ve been thinking about writing an essay for a contest about this book, specifically about how seeing people like Harold and Willem struggle with Jude’s trauma is helping me feel better about how I cope with my own close family member’s trauma, and seeing you recognize that as one of the stronger aspects of the book has helped me feel more confident on that being the basis of my essay.
it definitely was one of the best parts of the story for me, and i think it gets overshadowed by the shocking tragedies a lot. i think it would be a great topic to write an essay on though because if you pay attention there’s *so much* there to work with
hi, dad
excuse me i read this for you and tHAT’S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY. LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE DONE MADAM. I AM IN SHAMBLES.
The Holiday arguments that this could kindle is compelling.
Mmmm where's my popcorn
Why is this an argument that would happen with my sibling?
Kalakakkal
The front cover of the book is literally just a picture of somebody who read the final draft.
ain’t that the truth
It's actually a picture of a man orgasming
It’s what my face looks like during finals 😂
leicanoct If some of the subject matter in the book is a trigger for you then it’s going to affect your psyche
it looks like jim carey
"I'm gonna take a break and do some studying" is a sentence I thought I'd never hear in my life
Jovana01 Lukic Tells you just how heavy this book is lol
lol
It’s actually so fun and once you get hooked reading can start distracting you if you don’t make yourself a plan , I remember not studying what’s supposed to be studied just so I can study books ...
lol
exactly my thoughts
I read those last 100 pages on a plane. It was A MISTAKE. I didn’t know it was going to be so bad. Hostesses came to comfort me, it was a whole thing. I don’t recommend being outside your home when reading this!
I remember going through "The Happy Years" while on a train for 4 hours and listening to Bon Iver's i;i.
I've set myself up too, I feel you!
I was on a beach! My fiance have to comfort me and we just went straight home! Lol glad to know i was not the only one
Louise Pétrouchka I’ve never read this book. I also don’t plan on reading it, because it could trigger the fuck out of me. But the moment your talking about is like a rule of thumb for drama shows. When I first got into the walking dead (in 2016) I went in strong. And one of my favorite characters died. I watched that episode while I was on campus. Internally cried, because I watched said episode right before a class. And then I texted one of my cousins about said episode. Her immediate response: “why did you watch this episode in public? You never watch the walking dead in public”
You may be asking yourself why? The answer is simple. The walking dead makes you care about people during a zombie apocalypse. But..it’s a zombie apocalypse. All the shit happens.
@@greendayfecer hey! Big TWD fan. Which character are you talking about
Wait so should I not read the book then? Is it really bad or do you mean the ending is just terribly sad?
this is the student I aspire to be, one who considers the actual studying as the break itself
Likewise
Me too! I’m too lazy
Me: watches her have an entire breakdown over this book
Also me: *adds to tbr*
Ok but like ME
Yep I added it to my tbr as well so love that, cant wait to cry😌💅
Got my copy a few days ago, I'm scared.
I immediately bought it. I keep reading then coming back to video to see what she has to say about the chapters I just read
Same here
i can smell the mental breakdown coming and im only 1 minute in
2.1K likes but no comments? let me fix that
Its those small moments where Jude thinks to himself that he doesn't deserve anything good or happiness because he thinks he is dirty and deformed. It broke my heart everytime he thought this.
I read this a month ago and I still remember it even now. I tried finding books that could hit the same level of raw emotion but so far nothing has come even close.
I haven't read the book but honestly the comment made me start to tear
@@fae2488 I'm not a very emotional person but this book made me cry so many times
it hurts how much he hates himself
@workingonit omg I have 😭 And a thousand splendid sun's! Both were so emotional
kat: everyone says this book is super sad but like... where?
also kat: *intense sobbing*
she didn’t know any better. what a FOOL
paperbackdreams Lol
It was exactly me in chapter 1 but then chapter 2 came 🙃
I just think this book should come with a free puppy to comfort the readers
I'd rather have a small kitty.
i'm only on page 600 but i want jude to have a puppy to comfort him
It wasn't that bad
Absolutely! A puppy or a kitten or any form of a loving pet to comfort us ❤ such a heavy book, plan on rereading it this year
“so i try to be kind in everything i see, and in everything i see, i see him.”
*sobs*
Exactly.
lol
Wow the fact that Kat said “I’m on page 420” with a completely straight face shows how much this book is effecting her
*affect
is this book worth reading? because I'm planning to buy it and there's only 1 stock left
@@pochi8846 honestly, I would say no. The main reason everyone’s read is because of this weird trauma bonding type “this book emotionally destroyed me, you have to read it too”. If you’re really interested go for it, but it’s very triggering so be very very wary
@@pochi8846 it’s my favourite book. It is very triggering but the trauma totally pulls you into the story and makes you care about the characters. If you can handle the high emotions then I’d recommend it.
lol
You finally reading this has the same vibe as when Leonardo DiCaprisun finally won that Oscar.
HAH
I would pin this comment coz it's accurate 😂😂😂
i love this comment
DICAPRISUN! 😂
I thought the same thing😂😂 it was like FINAAAALLYYYYY
1000th like woooo🌠
When you said “we don’t know anything about Jude, he’s mysterious” I literally said ooooh honey you’ve got a big storm comin’!
AHSHWHW YOU ACTUALLY SAID ITTT GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE
Hahahaha!
It broke my heart every time Jude apologized for something he had no control over. He always felt
he had to apologize for just being him, even in the end.
Fr :( and I have SO MUCH respect for Harold and Willem
@@cobeilema2208 yeah so do I, they truly loved him!
i cried more when i read why (when the brothers at the monastery said that he should apologize for literally his existence)
Especially at the very end in his note to harold :(
Isn't this kind of a massive, massive spoiler 😢
It's never too late to add a spoiler alert 🙏
after being depressed for several days due to reading the book thief, I've learned my lesson.
I hadnt felt like I did with The Book Thief until I read this book, and the last 20 pages made me feel even worse than the book thief, so yeah. Still the two are on my top 5 for sure.
oh dear god thats my summer reading book :-| should i be nervous??
@@pennylane4718 Yes you should be very nervous haha. But it's an excellent book
K lemme just add those to my reading lists. Does anyone know of any other good books like these?
Finally someone talked about this. The Book Thief was so cruel. The whole book and some specific scenes laid out and heartbreaking. The last part was :""(
If reading 200 pages in 3 days (also studying with it) is slow then i don't know what I am
Parika Jain hahah I know right? I read at a snail’s pace unless it’s an audiobook
@@AsdfAsdf-mi6ks oh my god yessss , i literally can read like at most 100 pages in a day ..when i dont do anything else for the whole day
I read 200 in an hour........at max
@@sarakhan-pk7ko that's still greatttt
Parika Jain ikr I read like 40 pages a day
The fact that you have time to read in college is beautiful I can’t even look at a book
VOID 1101 lol the benefits of living at home
BIG RELATE
You just gotta read when you wake up or go to bed and substitute the time you spend on your phone with reading time! :)
Okay so my trick for reading on college especially since I have adhd and it’s recommend to me to study this way, 20 minutes study (time it don’t touch ur phone at all) and 1 chapter (as long as the chapter is crazy Lon if so or no chapters 10 minutes) reading break
During finals week too!
“I don’t know if I would cry about Willem”
Sure.
S u r e
OMG i cried so much at the willem part - i mean, jude's part was kind of expected, but willem's? i cried for days
The lies that we tell ourselves
S U R E
Just finished the book :,)
Reading this book as someone who has gone through sexual abuse as a teenager, physical and mental abuse from a parent, and over 10 years of self harm addiction and suicide attempts, I have never read something that I've been able to connect with a character on this level. This book is not trauma porn, it is a beautifully accurate representation of how trauma erodes your mental state, and leaves lasting scares that makes every single relationship you have in your life a challenge. this book will stay with me forever x
Been waiting to see a comment like this because I was thinking the exact same thing😭😭
Exactly, people who do not relate call it ‘trauma porn’
@@chrismyers4177 i feel like the people who call it that also just don't really understand that people can go through NUMEROUS traumas throughout their life and not just one or a few things
Who else wants to see a very detailed discussion between Kat and Lauren on this book?
Yessss
YASSS
I have 1k likes on this comment. So I feel like,,, we need this content. 👀
i have a feeling this comment aged well
"It's hard for books to make me emote these days"
"It's not weeping, it's not sobbing"
*11:43*
wELL
@@paperbackdreams lol.
Kat laughing hysterically while crying is a whole mood
‘the happy years’ THE single most inappropriately named chapter. congrats on finishing though! it’s definitely not an easy ride and I feel your pain.
genuinely, like I FELT BETRAYED
honestly i did not cry for the huge parts because a lot of them came so quickly, but for the small things, just like you, i did. especially with “willem watching jude tell a story.” i was mostly shocked during the bigger parts.
i completely agree! i felt the exact same
i completely agree!! the huge parts shocked me but “Willem watching Jude tell a story” made me sob for thirty minutes straight
@@BeAfraidOfJoziesame! that fucking part is one of the best pieces of writing i've read
YES OMG. when i read the book, i only cried once or twice, but after i finished, i cried for like half an hour in the middle of class
I remember the first time I cried was in the ending of the section of when we get Harold's narrate for the first time and when the section ends with the line " and after that, you have nothing to fear again". God I bawled my eyes out.
forced myself to start and finish this before finals. i really didnt think I'd cry so much but throughout and by the end of this: i realized i wasnt crying for the characters, i was also crying for my own life and trauma. i saw myself written in this, and by grieving the characters, i grieved myself too. i feel cleansed.
I felt the same way!
This was exactly how I felt too! I thought a lot of the things Jude was thinking at one point and Willems words of comfort made me feel comforted too. But everything after, destroyed me. Made me feel a bit helpless. I felt like Harold in those final moments. Everything he said and felt, gosh
I felt just the same way, I was crying because never ever a character felt just in the way I felt for years, until Jude, he put my feelings in words and actions, and I understand the choice he make at the final 💕😭🥺
THIS 🥺
I have been looking for a comment like this. I've felt crazy... I did cry... But it was tears of understanding and relief and feeling known. Only in pieces.
Our favourite librarian who we have a crush on is back ✨
Accurate af
Big mood
True
Spot on
I really want to like your comment but it's at 666 and I don't want to change that
me not knowing what the book is about: cant be that bad
me reading the content warnings: Oh
Im so confident this wont make me cry bcz i barely cry like how bad can a book be
sara i said the same thing but the last four pages got me
@@rileslord1082 what about it really got to you
@@matt7352 the last four pages just destroyed me, maybe its cause of that one scene described by Harold. but yeah it was a wild ride and I would not read the books ever again in my life
@@rileslord1082 just finished it. That finale destroyed me, I wasn’t crying but I definitely was fighting back tears. Tough read. Harold outliving everyone, that one paragraph alone geez
"Part five is called, 'The Happy Years'. Won't lie to you: I DOUBT IT." I howled.
I'm surprised you didn't include Andy in the list of characters you really cared about (Harold, Willem, Jude). I finished A Little Life about a month ago and Andy was definitely one of my favorite characters and I loved his loyalty to Jude
Sameeee i was thinking the same
Smaller character but one i really loved was Richard
Andy was so brilliant
spoilers
*
*
*
same - i didnt cry until the mention of Andy’s sudden death due to a heart attack at one of the last pages. He was so close to retiring and enjoying life and i KNOW he blames himself for Jude so bruh Andy’s death is what got me
Ana too
Seeing the thumbnail reminded me of her update on GoodReads, saying, "Did I finish this book or did this book finish me?"
my dad always tells me that i can only read this book when i'm older... now i see why
ur dad’s got wisdom
Oh really? I’m 14 and I bought the book out of pure curiosity... Am I supposed to just put it aside and wait till I grow up? I’m scared and I think I shouldn’t have bought it. 😔
@@aztre I mean, it's a really, I cannot stress this enough, really tough read. I'd say that's a question you really have to ask yourself. Check out the content warnings in the description and don't feel bad putting it down if it gets to be too much.
@@aztre oh no. Imagine all the trigger warnings in the world, this book has all of them.
I'm 15 and now I am curious...you made me curious...😭
the moment you lifted the book up and you were about to start "the happy years" i audibly gasped
me: has 3 essays and projects due in 5 hours, hasn't socialized in weeks
Kat: uploads a video
my brain: don't watch it do you have no life
me: a little life?
I'll leave
oOOOOOHHHH
You have just brought me such joy. Thankyou so much.
I just finished reading and I didn't cry... Till I reached Dear Comrade, after that, I couldn't stop crying, I couldn't stop reading, so I just read until I reached the end. I WAS SOBBING Y'ALL My eyes where swollen when I woke up the next day bc I fell asleep while crying.
@@fiamapuccini276
* SPOILERS *
Yes! I actually felt like everybody was lying about how sad the book was! I too thought it was horrifying, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. The only time I had to put the book down because I just couldn't keep reading was when Caleb was beating up Jude, I just felt extremely distressed and really scared for him, I had to take a moment. At one point I started reading the following pages just to be sure he survived.
I kinda knew too what was going to happen with Jude. I knew the author wasn't going to tell us his whole story, show us all of his fears and doubts make us love him, and then miraculously save him. I was prepared myself for that from the beginning, but watching him suffer after the accident was what broke me. It was incredible devastating. I just kept remembering all the things that Willem did for him and how much he loved Jude. How Malcolm always did his best to keep Jude safe in his own house, always trying to give his best the homes they deserved. And Poor Harold, who had to experience again losing a son. I don't know why the part when he and Julia found the letter and the CD affected me so much, maybe because it was something I had forgotten and that seemed ages ago, or because when Jude hide it, it was because he felt like it was something that wasn't worth much, when in reality it would have meant everything to Harold and Julia.
I don't regret it also, but I don't think I will read it again (or not for at least a couple of years)
Edited to add: ALSO If you wanna talk more about the book (I know I wanted someone to talk about it too but unfortunately my friends don't read, so that's why I came here lol ) you can message me on goodreads, my username is anotherlovelygirl!
@@fiamapuccini276 if you feel more comfortable you can DM me on Instagram! I have the same username!
literalllly!!! i was waiting with almost bated breath and i surprised myself by making it nearly 80% through without crying. but then Dear Comrade came and all the crying i didn't do earlier, i made up for now and some.
Same. After Dear Comarade I couldnt stop sobbing
I had never cried so hard at any piece of fictional media, much less a book. It just... came out of fucking nowhere. I was getting a bad feelings towards the end of a chapter and then... _fuck._
“i’m gonna drive now and i don’t wanna crash so bye” oh honey
U look like a girl timothee chalamet and it is the cutest thing ever
Is that why I’m so hooked to her videos wow!
this comment. wow. yes.
YEAH, right??? She looks adorable
this comment is completely accurate
Wtf i came here randomly in comment section, i didn't knew this untill now
Me: Hasn't read the book.
Kat: starts crying hysterically.
Me: Starts crying because apparently I'm a weak little bitch and sadness is contagious.
Also me: *Yeah, I'm gonna read this book.*
Edit: I'm halfway through the book and I can't stop crying. I need some hugs.
Edit 2: I finished this a month ago and I'm still not over it.
God dammit, this is me. I just need the book
Ria Chauhan Hey!! Do you remember where you found this book? Do you have a link? Thanks xx
@@blazingread9810 Thank you so much!!! I'll definitely read it and have a nice cry lol
Ria Chauhan “virtual hug” ❤️
Lol, thanks to this I am buying the book right know
Sad librarian is here to steal our hearts
First of all, I want to say something that I haven’t seen in any other reviews:
TRIGGER WARNINGS!!! This book is seriously so triggering it’s almost dangerous, I can’t believe that isn’t a big disclaimer before it stars. So, if these topics upset you (may I say it’s VERY graphic):
sexual abuse, verbal abuse, child abuse, violence, self harm (in every way), torture, grooming, ptsd, rape, heavy trauma, anxiety, eating disorder, forced prostitution, human trafficking.
Ok, now let’s go to the bad parts:
I don’t think the author knew how to deal well with race. It tries too hard to display race and sometimes it’s almost offensive. (Like there’s two characters whose only purpose on the book is being black and asian, and they have the exact same name and the only way to differentiate they is calling them by their race)
Some characters are left really plain after the first chapter.
The book kinda of glorifies too much self harm, and the descriptions and the way it feels, is almost as if it was good (?) which I think it can be very dangerous since it doesn’t have trigger warnings.
Now why I gave it 5 stars besides it all:
Wow. I don’t cry. This is the first book that made me sob and laugh in a matter of pages. The first thing ever that made me cry out of joy and smile wider than my mouth. This made me cry almost everyday. And smile. And hope.
The book that reintroduced me to reading, really. I lost completely my habit of reading which made me very sad, but I read this 720 page book in 2 weeks.
I woke up thinking about this book. I slept thinking about it.
I fell in love and genuinely cared for the characters.
The first book I was really scared of it ending. I just wanted more and more. I stared at the wall for 2 hours after i finished.
How it shows the path of healing is NOT a linear one. We fall, we rise, we go back, and forth. It’s hard. But it’s possible.
It destroyed me and put me back together. I’ve learned so much.
The ending wasn’t particularly good but it gave me closure. It really felt like i’ve lived a little life, a little life encapsulated by those pages.
It was simply beautiful.
If you’re looking for A Great Gay Novel: this is not for you
If you’re looking for a hard heavy full on drama: this is not for you.
If you’re looking for a bittersweet, tragic depiction of live: well, good luck my friend!
Tanya Talwar periodt
Thank you for the comprehensive trigger warnings. It's sort of hard to find it in reviews.
Thank you for this showing me the reality of this book, man! I really appreciate it, I've never prepared myself in reading a book before, just now, with this one.
is it naive to think that I may "accept" my own trauma by reading this book. (I know it's triggering but maybe it can be relatable in some messed up ways)
Totally agree.
A Little Life is a very good portrait of a person permanently and severely damaged by horrific abuse. Not everyone who's been hurt can be healed. I didn't cry when I read it but it's stuck with me.
HOW could u not cry wtf
omg your mom saying "this isn't going to take us down for the whole rest of the season is it" really resonated with me lol
A Little Life is one of my favourite books, that said, it was profoundly painful that even thinking about it makes makes me cry. I remember watching an interview of Hanya's where she talked about why she wrote it and she said something about wanting to create a character who endures so much but doesn't get better and sort of trying to figure out what that would look like and how their life would be. And I thought that was so interesting to read a book about a character who never gets better.
i definitely understand why people hate this book, i sometimes hate it too because of how painful it was to read, and i get the tragedy porn moniker. But it's also one my favourites because of hanya's writing and her ability to craft a story that makes me care so much about a character. I read it last year and i still thinking about jude and willem and jude making bread All The Time!
I juat finished this book, and when i read " i still think about Willem and Jude, and jude making bread" i cried with so much pain. This book is so much.
do you have a favourite quote from the book? I'm finally starting with this book and I always make a bookmark with quotes. So like, when I've finally reached that page, it'd be so special :D
I wanna read this but I’m the overly emotional child who will literally cry if the person who won Great British Bake Off cries. Yeah I’m that person, I’m very afraid.
Harley Ferch sane AF
Same **
oh then you’re not gonna make it through this book, i’m thought i’m a tough person but i’m halfway through the book and i’m constantly crying
Same here 😉 I'm too afraid to read this book 😂
this is deadass my fourth time rewatching this video i just love reading vlogs and its so perfect as background sound for studying
Who else cried with her even though they haven’t read the book yet? I wanted to give her a big hug
*I'm here for the tears*
Full health restore
Of course you are, squidward
thank you for making this video spoiler-free, i bought it based on your reaction lmao
so i went through this book in 4 days and i agree with everything you said, however it was extremely triggering for me. i usually gravitate towards darker pieces of art and i’m usually fine at the end of the day but this book was just too much. not because of, as you also found, things that happened to jude in the past but in the present. it depicts mental illness really well. maybe too well. i found myself reliving certain feelings with jude and that kinda woke something up in me that i’d buried deep within. words have power and this book seems like an abuse of that power. i get that the point of torture porn is to leave your audience feel beaten down but i think it’s important that one should use this power really carefully. anyways, i thought this was also an important note, although i know no one will see it
i have never cried whilst reading a book before.. the part where Harold called Jude sweetheart...
NO LITERALY
Jude trying to protect the scent of Willem 💔
her laughing while crying is such a mood
I cried while watching this because I so viscerally remember the trauma of this book oh my god
this is absolutely my favourite book and YES it ruined my life
jo leaned not at all! it was definitely painful to read and the aftermath was also painful LOL but honestly i feel like it made me a better person. i don’t regret reading it at all. it’s one of if not the best book i’ve ever read!
"Hello people. Is that the _World Wide Web_ calling?"
"They’re not calling"
"Oh, they will"
*we stan*
Kat's dad and Zoe's dad need to make a Dad Book Club!
Enfys Best I agree 1000%
thanks, dad
for anyone wondering the content warnings are: sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, scary verbal abuse, psychological manipulation and gaslighting, kidnapping/imprisonment, many modes of self-harm, a violent accident, a few moments of prejudice against the disabled, drug use, addiction, grief and loss of a loved one.
im so emotionally connected to this book that its straight on pathetic. i can not, i repeat, can not imagine forgetting these characters.
If you rarely cry when reading books and A Little Life did this to you, I'm so worried because I cry over EVERY book I read. 😂
you'd be tearing up the ocean
Sameeee
omg i’m starting to read it like tomorrow and i’m so afraid rn
same omg ahahaha
Me too so I thought it would destroy me. Instead I didn't cry, or not really like sobbing and shit, which is probably concerning.
legit have a 2400 word essay due tomorrow, but we gotta support our favourite librarian
the two major things i gathered from this video are: i need to get a dog who will lick my sad book-induced tears while i am weeping, and we need more vlogs of you reading a single book!!!
It gets annoying after awhile. my dog senses me crying from another room and won’t let a tear till without catching it 😂😂 Jk I love him
honeynut clusters KSJFKS awwwwh gosh i can't imagine such love
Girl I have NO IDEA how you didn’t full on sob during the x=x scene.
GOSH I read that part in a coffeehouse and I had to literally stop myself from shouting and cursing in pure RAGE.......................
All I felt then was rage, I wanted to enter the universe and strangle Caleb. And then to hear similar sentiments from Andy and Harold it really felt like I had. I truly felt as if I was there, some invisible bystander pulling for Jude
RIGHT. I WAS HYSTERICALLY CRYING
The pain I felt when I read that scene..... idk how she didn't sob lmao
girl i was thinking the SAME THING
i feel like i belong to the small amount of ppl who have not shed ONE single tear on this book. i found it the most heart breaking and drenching book and it has this beautiful, cruel, overwhelming way of breaking your heart into pieces. but i love that so much about it. idk why but i love the pain it gives me, it just makes me feel emotions which is hard for me as an individual to do (some of yall can probably relate). if something is making me so sad that i cant take it anymore, i cannot cry which is what happened to me reading this. i left my heart in this book. also i laughed so hard when you were not finished with the happy years yet and said "i think thats all the bad things, i dont think jude can take anything more" anyways - rlly enjoyed this vlog
"I havent cried yet but I feel a little dead inside" ... This one quote got me to pick the book up
Kat: I'm gonna read to page 420
Everyone: Nice
Kat: I just hit page 420
Everyone: haha yes I get it
“where’s the sad stuff? i don’t know!”
2 seconds later: kat sobbing
“Is that true? If I keep reading, is Beth gonna die?”
😂😂😂😂😂😂
*ends up putting book in freezer*
-No Joey Beth doesnot die.
-Then Why did u say Beth dies?
-Because ...I wanted to hurt you
Ngl, I came close to putting A Little Life in the freezer.
there's so many moments where i just want to reach out to jude and comfort him whenever he has his bad thoughts. even though he had to deal with his trauma for years, i'm more moved by the support system that he still has for over 30 years or so, who are so loyal and loving to him, who just wants to see him get better. ultimately, this book teaches so much about family and friendship values that makes me glad knowing that jude got through more years than he would have if he didn't have that support from them.
“No tears yet, dry as a desert”
5 min later
So many tears
just finished a little life today, literally had to take breaks every chapter from dear comrade and after bc it was too much. i wish i could erase the ending from my memory, honest to god. literally sobbed my mom had to come in and calm me down :(
cyphervv hello, i hope you've somewhat recovered, i felt the same way
is it hard to read? not emotionally (i already know it is) but is it easy to get lost or bored???
becca !!! i didnt find it especially hard, honestly, i think youll be fine if youre used to more mature writing/fiction, but if you're more of a YA reader you might find it a bit wordy ☺️
@@violetsandsunsets4911 holy fuck that was not what I wanted to hear halfway into this book
Omg i finished it two days ago and I was the exact same. I had to take breaks because i couldn’t even read the words i was crying so hard and afterwards i went down to my family and just sobbed to them.
"im just upsettti spaghetti' this seems to be the theme of the vlog
I’ve been thinking about reading this book for a while now and just stumbled upon your review. Very well done and let me just say thank you for being so raw and vulnerable and thank you so so SO much for the trigger warning list in the description.
me: i'm already depressed and anxious irl so i won't read/watch anything depressing
also me: looks up which books make you cry.
I’m reading Hold Still by Nina LaCour. It’s a short book but it’s taking me a bit to get through it cause I keep crying lol
I am eight months pregnant and I started this book earlier in the week and I can tell this was a horrible idea. I cried while watching The Voice the other day for gosh sakes, what am I thinking starting this?!
How’d it go?!
How was it
Mam that was a bad decision
hey how'd it go? also hows your baby :)?
@@seaof_stars horribly. Definitely not a happy book.... or one to read when you're already emotional! Baby is wonderful, almost 2 now :)
why did I start to cry when you did at the end? i haven’t read the book!
Kat: *brings the camera to her eyes to show a tear*
Also Kat: “get away from me, don’t look at me!”
I love your videos btw!
spoiler warning:
spoiler warning:
spoiler warning:
spoiler warning:
spoiler warning:
spoiler warning:
spoiler warning:
spoiler warning:
spoiler warning:
- I didn’t find myself crying at this book until Willem’s death and that was mainly out of shock because I truly did not see it coming. After that I didn’t anticipate me crying at this book again as any other sad thing that would have happened I already anticipated and had already prepared myself for. But then as you said, I came to a heartbreaking line that shattered me completely, when Jude is in JBs gallery and sees the painting of Willem and he observes that in the painting Willem is clearly looking at something or someone that he loves and then JB points out the name of the art piece: “Willem listening to Jude tell a story” - It felt like it was finally Jude realising that Willem truly had loved him.
It’s safe to say I sobbed,
i just finished this book and found this video cos i cant sleep after finishing it. your comment just shattered me again, that scene is just more heartbreaking to me now :(
@@lazedaisies it kept me awake as well, i still find myself thinking about the characters everyday like they’re my real friends, i don’t think i’ve ever been so attached to characters before in the sense that i just can’t forget them or let them go, such beautiful writing- but absolutely devastating all at once :(
Even after you typing three times "Spoiler Warning", I read the first line which was visible and yeah.. when I finished I felt that I shouldn't have known that
@@tismiagain yeah i wouldn’t even watch a reading vlog for a book i hadn’t read yet personally, let alone read the comments
Willems death was the most shocking moment for me. I was prepared for death of Jude (I was scared that he will die in the first part of the book and the rest will be about the others reminiscing him and learning about his tragic history). So when Willem died… I perceived him like safe, warm character. And suddenly he was gone. The hardest part for me was the fact, that I can list few pages back and reread Willems parts of story, but Jude can’t. Jude lost him forever.
Oh my god I can’t actually believe this was 4 years ago. I miss you on your channel, Kat.
I think of Jude everyday since I read this and I have no regrets
i wish I could hug you right now, I relate to it so much.
This book broke my heart especially when Willem died and that's the one person whom Jude did the most opening to
You: I just hit page 420 which means...
Me: You're lit (yeahhhh)
You: I'm now over half way through
Me: Oh...
btw this is my first of these types of comments and I hate myself.
@@marieleelee omg
@@marieleelee providing a service so the rest of us dont have to
I waited for so long and it's here and I'm not prepared. Kat breaking down over something that isn't Radio Silence? Here for it
"I hope we're done cause how much more can that boy take?"
Oh boy, you had no idea.
SPOILER WARNING
I always wondered why Harold was the only character that switched to the first person. Was it because she planned, from the start, on ending Jude's life that way? And that the emotions were best conveyed directly through Harold? I don't know. But I always felt that Harold was the reader. What he felt, we felt. We were distanced from Jude in some ways but we rooted for him, we desperately wanted him to be happy even if we couldn't be his Willem, we wanted to see his story to the end, to hope till the end, like Harold had.
That's just what I think.
I think it's because Harold was the only one left when all of the other characters were dead and he narrated his parts to the last portrait of Willem on the wall. Either way his chapters were so poignant.
Yes and even then there is a slight sense of discomfort from the term meant to mirror Jude's own dislike of the word (he asked Willem not to call him sweetheart or honey) because Brother Luke and some of the 'better' ('better' in Jude's childhood memory that is in that they weren't violent) clients called Jude by the term. So even the most heart-felt and sorrowful scene, Harold calling Jude 'sweetheart' makes the reader (or is it just me?) both recall and recoil as Jude does himself...it is a literary device on the part of the author, I think. It works to keep the destructive trauma and memories as ever present for both Jude and the reader.
“I am the queen of bad ideas.”
Excuse you. That’s me.
😂😂
Superior content, as ever
ooo i like that way of looking at it all!
"You can tell that it's going to get a little emotional"
*Looks at cover of man actively repressing tears*
@@makraemarsland8213 *why not both*
@@sinistrecigogne Crying after an orgasm is my aesthetic.
@@taralucent1219 crying sperm is my aesthetic.
(I already regret this comment how nice :>)
Wait that's a dude... bitch I thought it was Anne Frank 😂
I think the only part of this book that truly broke me was JB imitating Jude and Jude’s reaction. that was the only time I actually cried.
Especially when he said JB was right 😞
dude, me too i didn’t cry when kat cried but i definitely did on page 331 when you know that the friendship is just over
Just finished it yesterday. Even though I anticipated what happened at the end of "The Happy Years" I basically sobbed throughout the whole of "Dear Comrade". Still, this is one of the best books that I've ever read.
when she started crying the first time i was genuinely concerned honey
Reading while giving exams is a chaotic chaotic thing and I commend you for actually completing the book (unlike me, who gets so absorbed into a book that studying is...eh, neglected 😅)
i’ve never heard of little life but after seeing the comments on this video and this video i’m terrified of this book. what happens in the book? no idea. i’m scared.
okay listen. LISTEN. this book is amazing but. BUT. it does come with a lot of trigger warnings and baggage so look those up before reading. otherwise, it's a beautiful book and if you cry over most books you should read this book along because i have only cried over books like twice in my life but i cried like eight times while reading a little life and i think i cried harder than kat during those last 100 pages. so. be careful!
Please I accidentally read the spoiler for the end and i freaking cried even though I was only like, a few hundred chapters in. WORST MISTAKE. But yes, amaziingg book!
the real question is what DOESN’T happen in this book
😭😭😭 this me while reading this book 😭😭😭😭
It’s not good :/
“she’s coming to give you kisses because you have problems.” i love that.
Can I just say how much I actually admire when a book reader does equally well in audio books. That's just amaze
“SHE HAS TO GIVE YOU KISSES CAUSE YOU HAVE PROBLEMS” HAHAHAHA I LOVE YOUR MOM
Mar GB I loved that! Lol
YOU FINALLY READ IT WTF I NEVER THOUGHT THIS WOULD HAPPEN
helvetets håla are you swedish omg
miss marielle no i’m from ypsagon just like pax
I went from ‘maybe I should read this book’ to ‘nope never reading this’ when I saw the content warnings and heard your final review. Never the less, this was a great video!!
I finally read the book after I watched Kat’s vlog. Finished it a few days ago and I’m still not over it. How can a book be so beautiful and yet make you not want to keep reading and keep reading at the same time and be so heartbreaking ? I don’t think I’ll find a book quite like this again
I read this book totally blind. A friend said "you should read A Little Life" and I said "ok!" and picked it up from the library. After I finished it I texted her and let her know that she fully and completely ruined my LIFE with this book.
Lol I’d probably be that friend.
you know it's serious when the post-it's appear
The fact that she makes them real people and makes you love them before bad things start to happen is actually very realistic - I think she’s trying to make a verisimilitude within you and your attachment to the characters
After all, that’s the real pain, or a part of it, you would feel if bad things happened to your loved ones. You have to care because she’s trying to break you just like a real person would feel broken after seeing someone they knew their whole life suffering
Yes, yes and yes!
This came at such a perfect time for me because I’ve been thinking about writing an essay for a contest about this book, specifically about how seeing people like Harold and Willem struggle with Jude’s trauma is helping me feel better about how I cope with my own close family member’s trauma, and seeing you recognize that as one of the stronger aspects of the book has helped me feel more confident on that being the basis of my essay.
it definitely was one of the best parts of the story for me, and i think it gets overshadowed by the shocking tragedies a lot. i think it would be a great topic to write an essay on though because if you pay attention there’s *so much* there to work with
paperbackdreams im glad you think so too!!!
update: i won the essay contest!!! so thank you so much for kind of giving me the impetus for it.
Shadow_Owl242 congratulations!! that’s incredible ✨
i didnt cry until i read the last sentence, like i finished that sentence and i just burst out in tears for 12 minutes exactly and went to sleep.
This was the saddest book I’ve ever read in my life but I still loved it