Anyone read ‘A Little Life’?

[Stripeyblue]

This book keeps coming up as a recommendation on Audible and Amazon. Many of the reviews are amazing but many also warn of it being traumatic to read. How upsetting is it? I’m not adverse to challenging subject matter but struggle reading about children being hurt. Anyone read it?

I'm still slogging on with this - I'm 37% of the way through and I'm still wondering when it migjt get more interesting. Although saying that, for some reason I can't seem to stop reading it...... Maybe it's all the rave reviews I've read about it that makes me keep thinking it might improve.....!

I thought it was complete drivel.

Hands down the most depressing book I have ever read! Very long, and unrelenting.

I thought it was terrible - badly written, manipulative and ridiculously over the top.

Hate it. Nasty torture porn masquerading as literature.

It is weirdly detached from real life events: so, you have a story set in the 1970s onward about gay men which makes no mention of the AIDS epidemic? The main character works in finance, but no mention of the crash? They all live in New York in the 2000s but no mention of 9/11? Also the ‘good’ characters are unfeaslbly saintly while the ‘bad’ ones are utterly utterly horrible. The most interesting character, JB, just fades out halfway through. None of it rang true for me.

Started it but couldn't get beyond about 7%.

I didn't particularly like The Goldfinch tho. Thought the first 1/4 was fantastic, lost the will to live about 2/3s of the way through and skipped to the last bit. Which I dont think I could tell you now and I read it this year.

It's good but a bit of an unrelenting misery fest of abuse

Just finished this today. I felt so empty the whole time I was reading it. Don't think I would recommend it to anyone really, I don't think I've gained anything by reading it.

Totally agree with people who describe this as a misery memoir style book.
It was so unrelentingly awful and unbelievable
I tried to persuade others to read it but no body could bear it

" I don't think I've gained anything by reading it. " -totally agree.
And it doesn't demand anything of the reader other than reading it, IYKWIM.
Really bad book with zero research and no plot.

I'm so glad lots of other people didn't like it!

I gave up the first time about 50 pages in. Went back to it and beyond that point got much better. In the end I loved it but it was harrowing (which personally i am ok with)

I've just finished it. I did really enjoy it but would have preferred more about all of the characters. Having said that it was too long!! I also found Jude very selfish.

I also found Jude very selfish, and quite unlikeable really.