A Little Life Book Review - How can a book impact me this much?

[@emroussel2397]

The process of reading this book, and the story in itself, is something that I find very difficult to put into words, but you've done it beautifully. Like you, I carried the weight of the book everywhere I went for the whole time I was reading it and for a while afterwards. It is a book that sits heavily on your heart, something you can't shake off. I think Hanya has done a masterful job at making us forget these were fictional character : they were so well written that I grieved over them as though they were friends I'd known a long time. It's a raw, beautiful yet unnerving despiction of the human condition and what it means to live with trauma - not everyone gets a happy ending, some, like Jude, may never move on no matter how much you wish they would. It will stick with me for a very long time.

[@riship88]

I feel exactly the same. If I was able to get a tattoo, something ALL related would definitely be one of them.

[@derekw1073]

I found myself unable to pick up another book after finishing A Little Life - it's been almost 6 months and I still grieve for Jude. To move on, for me, is to betray what I feel for the characters. Like Hanya said, reading the book does at times makes me feel like a voyeur, a witness or the only company Jude ever has. At the end of Harold's monologue, I now see the book the same way as Harold does to JB's painting of Willem - it is a memory that I want to remember and not be tainted by other stories.

[@riship88]

I've been finding it quite difficult to move on also. I've not been able to pick up another book. I actually don't know what to read next as everything else at the moment feels incomparable. Also having just watched the play, Jude's been living in my thoughts even more so as it just brought it all to life. I want to read To Paradise but feel it's too soon.

[@derekw1073]

@@riship88 I have mine booked for May and I cannot wait. To Paradise is a completely different novel (or so I've heard) but still epic nonetheless. I think Shuggie Bain would be your next best read because of the similar themes and also the fact that the author works with Hanya's editor prior to it being published. FYI, A24 has bought the rights for Shuggie to adapt it into a limited series. It's on my TBR but I don't think I will read it until a week before it premiers.

[@riship88]

@@derekw1073 Thanks for the recommendation, I had not heard of Shuggie but having looked it up I recognise the cover art. It sounds super heavy having just read the blurb. I think I will pick up A Song of Achilles next and then move on to To Paradise and then attempt Shuggie.

[@derekw1073]

@@riship88 You’re most welcome!

[@OzmaOfOzz]

It's been 7 years for me, and I'm still grieving (for) Jude. 😢 I'm ready for a reread 😢 I know it's going to break me, but in these 7 years, I've been through so much, and I want to see if I can relate even more to these characters 😢

[@ivatorres4515]

I loved the way you started your "thoughts" - since you don't want to call it a review - because I felt exactly the same when I finished reading A Little Life. I wanted so badly to talk to someone about it, but words failed me. Thank you for this video.

[@riship88]

It was definitely my thoughts, recording the video was like a therapy session 😂

[@MariaM-fv4lc]

I loved your thoughts on this and especially the way you spoke about the book with emotions but also intellect. I think you should do more videos on books and your thoughts about them. Highly enjoyed your ideas here. Thank you!

[@riship88]

Thanks Maria, I will try. I don't read quick enough to churn out review vids regularly but I'll see what I can do.

[@gust5762]

🙏🏼❤️Thank you for sharing. I read the book several years ago and could not find a person who has read it to discuss and process the emotional content. Like you, I was walking around thinking about Jude and Willem and could not seem to exit their fictional world. I also had a hard time finding another book to read. Recently, a friend just finished it and we’re going to discuss the book over tea/ coffee. I found myself returning to the world that Hanya created and watched several of her interviews. KZbin brought me to you and I’m glad. I’m envious that you got to see the stage version (I live in the USA). I always like to read the book first before its adaptation to other media and look forward to watching your reaction.

[@JamesE88]

I really appreciate you thoughts and insights into the novel, as someone who saw the play first and really struggled with it, and then went on to read the book, the book really impacted me and made me more empathetic towards others. I would have said before that I was empathetic but I think that the novel really pushes you into thinking about the things that can happen to a person and how that influences them. You just really never know what’s going on inside other people and it can be frustrating when people don’t behave the way you’d like, it has really reminded me to me more patient and understanding with others and myself, we’ve all got things we’re dealing with in big and small ways all the time and sometimes it’s useful to be reminded of that.

[@riship88]

Thanks for your comment James. Did you enjoy the play having now read the book?

[@siphesihlejojo4981]

I love how you've expressed yourself here...thanks for your insights❤

[@riship88]

Ah thanks for you comment and watching x

[@jonahjones2129]

Interested to hear your comments - I saw the play without reading the book - then needed to research more about the story to understand the play. Then of course had to see the play again .. ended up seeing it 3.5 times ... very powerful. The actors were amazing and it was such an impactful experience. Understand your need to share how it landed with you. It is powerful, moving and touches you deeply. Once read or seen .. can't be forgotten.

[@riship88]

Why did you see it 3.5 times?

[@riship88]

Did you read the book?

[@grantk7186]

Thank you. Yes, it is a love story. You articulated so much of what I feel about this book. I’m about to read it for the 3rd time is a year.

[@riship88]

Wow, a third time? I will read it again this winter I think.

[@kisui101]

when I finished it I felt such a strong grief for Jude, I still do even months later; the author really made me forget these were just fictional characters and that's honestly so impressive this book is so beautifully sad and amazingly devastating... I'll never forget the way this book has impacted me my heart keeps aching for Jude, even tho I know he's fictional I feel like we got to know him at such a personal and visceral level it's just... wow i wouldn't recommend reading it if you ain't on the right mind and place (I wasn't lol), it really can take you you a dark place if you can't separate reality from fiction, yet again, it's as beautiful as it's sad

[@riship88]

Thanks for your comments. I felt exactly the same, still think about it randomly some days. Definitely will be reading it again next year. Never read a book like it x

[@vicany]

I read the book back in 2016 when I happened across it and others on the shortlist for women's prize for fiction. It is profound how the experience from it still resonates in a similar way for me as it does today with you. Indescribable yet beautiful is spot on. Was here for your ssri insights as I started this week, but got a nice bonus by seeing this vid too :D All the best from Sweden.

[@riship88]

I love that you found the review via my ssri vids. There is definitely apart of that book that lives with me every day. I hope that you're keeping well

[@sharonclass4133]

I loved the book too. I cried (sobbed) in a few parts for sure. I finished it a month ago or more and still think about the characters. I hated to leave them

[@riship88]

Will you get to see the play?

[@Stacey-uv7si]

a lot of people talk about it on TikTok but was a little hesitant to buy it with over 800 pages but watching your review of this book I just ordered it on Amazon.

[@riship88]

I found people on TIkTok spoke about it the way they did for effect and to get a reaction. It is a tough read and initially difficult to get into but push through and just let yourself settle into it. Be patient and allow yourself to feel whatever comes.

[@kay7509]

I really relate to a lot you are saying. I finished it the second time some days ago and it broke my heart all over again.

[@riship88]

Did you see the play?

[@kay7509]

@@riship88 I will end of this month!! Sadly I could not see it live, since I live in germany, but I will watch the recording of it in the cinema. I am looking so forward to it.

[@tzeyanglee8306]

The exact same sentiment for me. I couldn’t find anyone to talk to about the book but it affected me so deeply, in a span of 3 weeks I read the book twice and bit the bullet on rather pricy tickets for the play. There’s a lot of beauty in the story. Reading it felt like an out of body experience for me, as if I’m reading my own thoughts. And like you, I really loved the purity of Willem and Jude’s relationship grounded in realism. I’m almost reluctant to move on from the book, fearing that I can’t find anything which comes close.

[@riship88]

I've read two books after that and it just didn't hold my attention the same way. Do you thing Wilem and Jude's relationship was well portrayed in the play?

[@tzeyanglee8306]

@@riship88 unfortunately no. The play focused on Jude’s difficulty to accept Willem’s love and his discomfort for intimacy which I think for those who didn’t read the book, would not grasp the beauty of their relationship. Even Harold’s relationship with Jude I felt lacking the warmth of the book. I guess that’s the luxury of prose which takes the reader on the journey.

[@QueenMerneith-w9e]

I started with the audiobook and I got nothing ... I had to read the first few hundred pages first until I got the hang of the story then I went back to the audiobook and finished it with no problem. Yes, the audiobook is overwhelming in the beginning.

[@riship88]

I did the same, started with Audio and very quickly got lost in the words to had to move to paperback.

[@fajarsetiawan8665]

Regarding Jude and Willem's relationship problem with sex, shame and self-harm, I can't help but think that they probably perceived too shallowly as mainly penetrative sex. I know the author didn't specify the sex act but it did mention that Jude didn't wanna do foreplay and just straight to the "job" which I assumed as penetration (also this is because prostitution traditionally demands it). If only they introduce frottage and just soft plays, it could've been better for them instead of Willem fooling around and feeling shameful afterwards. In the end, they all need therapist. I don't know what's behind the author excessive aversion to therapy and shrinks but it's getting a bit weird

[@Thebalancewitch1134]

Oh Ch V The Happy Years. I was stunned, actually had the wind knocked out of me, at the end of that chapter and it wasn’t until Harold is speaking to Willem in Ch VII Lispenard Street again that I finally process what I read two chapters ago and I cried and cried and mourned.

[@riship88]

That and when Willem ran into the bathroom and slashed his chest were the most anxiety inducing parts for me 🙊

[@marlenaeva3813]

So excited to start the journey with this book (I know this should not be the mindset to have for this book, ha ha)

[@riship88]

Haha I wish I could read it again for the first time. It's definitely a journey. Enjoy it.

[@Anne-rj4bk]

For months now I have been unsure if I should read the book or not. Some people hate the book claiming it destroyed them, others loved the book but still said they won't recommend it to anyone. So I am burning to know what all the hype is about, but also feel I don't want to put myself in a state depression.

[@riship88]

I think it depends how you approach it. It definitely can be triggering and it is very sad in several places but I really was able to separate the sadness from all the love that exists in this book. I think a lot of the online hype is for clicks (book reviewers on KZbin) but the book is also very well written and does somewhat takeover your life. And for me a great book is one that never leaves you and stays in your thoughts for a long time after you've finished it. If you enjoy that sort of reading experience then you definitely have to give it ago. I'm not going to lie, I did cause me anxiety at times but that was partly also to do with a couple things that went on whilst I was reading it so it was just bad timing. Let me know if you decide to read it.

[@ben3jack6]

Try Tin Man by Sarah Winman. I think you would love it 😊

[@riship88]

Just looked it up, added to the list, thanks Kirsty.

[@alpha.2299]

Is this book is on Homosexculity?

[@riship88]

There is a underlying theme of homosexuality but not obviously.

[@ecorr30]

I are beautiful

[@ecorr30]

U* lol

[@riship88]

Thank you ☺️

[@reallifevegeta552]

when you went up from 25 to 50 on setraline , did the side effects get worse. im doubling tmrw after a week of 25. damn my vision is blurry as shit

[@riship88]

No they didnt get worse. My side effects only lasted 2-3 weeks. But I can't say it was due to increase in dose. Best of luck mate.