Finding A Little Life quite hard to get into

[PracticallyPerfectedIt]

I've heard so much about this book, I thought it would be a masterpiece I'd be drawn into, but 5 nights in and I'm struggling to get into it.

The main characters seem so unlikeable and unbelievable, the whole set up is nothing I can picture or relate to.

I'm a few chapters in and it feels like a slog, I've got a long way to go. Do I keep going? Is it worth it?

I thought it was a load of old misery porn hooey.

Not a fan.

I hated it so much I threw it in the bin as I didn’t want to send it to the charity shop and subject someone else to it

😁

Hmm ok maybe I'll pick something else for tonight...

I felt like that about Normal People. I was absolutely furious with the person who recommended it to me.

Because it's an absolutely terribly written book that has been hyped up by morons of our time. It's misery porn and very badly written. I also couldn't stand Jude or Will.

This describes it perfectly

I loved it. I would say persevere at least an other couple of chapters.

I ploughed on for 300 odd whinging pages then gave up, I didn’t get it at all.

Most of the characters seemed interchangeable, they all seemed to hate each other and were quite unbelievably successful, there were too many elaborate descriptions of expensive trips that added nothing to the story and it had absolutely no sense of place.

I mean, it felt like an achievement to finish it, but it also felt horrible during the time of reading and agree with PP that it's quite misery porn.

If I could go back in time, I'd not recommend myself to read it... Better (healthier) things to put into my mind and soul.

If you're feeling like that now, abandon ship, it won't get any better for you

Ok. Thank you all, this was the validation I needed to give up.

I don't know why it's so hard-wired into us to plough through books we aren't enjoying.

This is the worst book ever.

Honestly, don’t put yourself through it. I am not joking at all when I say that.

It just gets worse and worse. I flicked through to see if it got any less miserable. It doesn't.

Okay, I have to disagree, I found it tragic and distressing but well written and cohesive. There were love and optimism in there too!

Agreed. Abandoned at the half way point. Really dull and miserable and all the characters blended in to one.

Totally agree on the characters, bar one I have no idea why there were so many of them, none stood out for any reason they were just like a list of names.

There was just no nuance to it. No one had an ordinary, or even decently successful career, they were all absolutely top of their game, incredible houses, amazing holidays. On top of all the misery porn. I desperately wanted Jude’s back story to be something else, that would have been much more interesting and clever.

I thought about giving up halfway through...wish I had! Seriously, don't put yourself through it, just when you think it can't get any more depressing, it does.

Just the most terrible book. A load of unprofessional enablers pandering to a severely unwell narcissist. How it is even possible to shoehorn so many useless and one dimensional characters into one book is beyond me. Then that poor fucker James Norton had to live it each day on stage. He will never be the same.

I've found my people.

Shockingly terrible book!

It took me a while to get into, the beginning is really dry, it but once I did I was intensely gripped and did cry. There is lots wrong with it, but I'm glad I read it.

It’s a dreadful, self-indulgent exercise in how much graphic horror and misery you can pile onto one character. Chronic pain, disability, self-harm, abuse, violence, CSA, rejection, sexual violence, bereavement etc etc.

Their overwhelming ridiculous success despite mostly average beginnings was utter nonsense, a couple of people doing really well I could take.

Or, had a couple done well and the others not it’d have given some kind of interesting tensions too, none of their careers rang true for me.

@HelpMebeok I loved it too!

I thought it was shite. I love the poster who is furious with someone for recommending a terrible book! I'm still seething about a few!

Bag o' shite, misery porn with no redeeming features.