13 Thoughts About A Little Life

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This is my first review in a series of twenty that I'll be doing this summer for the 20 Books of Summer project. I started with a doozy. I tried my best not to cry throughout this video, and I'm not entirely sure I succeeded. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara is an incredible experience, a masterpiece of empathic fiction, and every bit as difficult to stomach as people have said. But I think the journey is worth it.
As always, I apologize for the extremely long video, but once I started talking about this book I couldn't stop. There's a lot to talk about in the book and there's even more to talk about in terms of people's reactions to the book.
No stone left unturned. I hope you enjoy.
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For more on the 20 Books Of Summer project, click here: • The 20 Books of Summer...
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Опубликовано:

26 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 452

@helenadelapena8678 4 года назад

For me this book was therapeutic because I had been self-harming for 6 years when I read it and seeing Jude 30 years down the line still destroying himself made me think about what and why I was doing this to myself and it helped me start my journey of recovery.

@sarahmcdonough7713 4 года назад

this is such a wonderful thing to read after having spent the last two weeks (the time since i started the book) kind of constantly worrying in the back of my mind about its effects on people with ANY kind of experience with any of the dozens of incredibly heavy topics contained in it. im sure this would be exactly the wrong thing for some people with those experiences to read and could potentially be quite dangerous so its so amazing to hear that you got such good things out of it. good for you, really

@LuckyPide 3 года назад

💖

@Melisa-to3ob 3 года назад

I know I'm crazy late to this comment, but I just want to say I'm proud of you for starting your recovery journey.

@starkamuala 3 года назад

That's nice to hear! i hope you're doing okay

@belleazelea2931 3 года назад

I'm having a hard time whether should I read the book or not (because I do self-harm and attempt suicide for many times). But because of your comment, I am motivated now to read it. I hope things will get better after I read it. Thank you and stay safe! ❤

@annac9534 3 года назад

When I finished the final page of A Little Life, I felt as though someone I had known for years died. For days I felt like I was mourning the loss of someone I knew personally. On top of that, I have random thoughts about this story and these characters months and months after finishing it. Probably my favorite book and I am considering reading it a second time to digest it further.

@samramajeed5315 3 года назад

Same feelings 😭😭

@maxmustermann-hx3fx 3 года назад

Yes 100%.

@MN-jd4xs 2 года назад

i feel the exact same way

@sammyr713 2 года назад

I feel the exact same way. I cry and mourn like i’ve just lost a sister or parent.

@Jah-Knee 2 года назад

June 12

@MatthewSciarappa 5 лет назад

THE LACK OF DEVELOPMENT IS THE STATEMENT THE AUTHOR IS TRYING TO MAKE!!!!!! YEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

**flexes**

@alexandra.a9428 3 года назад

i read that exactly when he was pronouncing...

@teresadunivent8571 4 года назад

I watched an interview with the author, and I love that she wrote a book about an individual who can’t recover from their trauma. As a victim of child molestation, I believe this is a trauma that you don’t ever recover from; you just learn how to cope with it and some days are better than others. I live with this everyday, and I didn’t experience the extreme abuse Jude did. Lord! I hate to say that my abuse was less than his, but in my mind, I don’t think I would have ever been able to cope with that level. I struggle daily with my own. This book was cathartic for me; I was able to relate to someone who had the same feelings resulting from this abuse. It is an abuse no one ever wants to talk about. Victims of this abuse can’t just talk to anyone as the average person, in my experience, quickly changes the subject, won’t look you in the eyes or finds a comment to placate you. That journalist you quoted is just such a person. This is a crime many gloss over because many people can’t handle the sickness of it in our society!

@RickMacDonnell 4 года назад

A story about a person who can't get over their trauma was the thing that affected me the most about this book. You just don't read those narratives too often. It's always about overcoming stuff. But some of the time--a lot of the time--people just can't overcome their traumas. I'm happy to found some catharsis in the book! But at the same time, it's something you're going to have carry with you forever, most likely. As someone who isn't carrying something like that, I obviously can't fully put myself in your shoes. But I hope you're feeling the best you can, and when you're not, you have someone around to help you get through.

@teresadunivent8571 4 года назад

@@RickMacDonnell Thank you! I am blessed to have my own Willem. That said. I wanted to say I love your review. I have shared it with several people already.

@RickMacDonnell 4 года назад

Thanks so much, Teresa! That means a lot, really.

@tylerf.145 9 месяцев назад

same situation with me. hope youre doing well :)

@lunamoone5231 5 месяцев назад

She didnt even do her research

@reginalemoine5809 5 лет назад

Wonderful review. It makes me so angry when people reduce this rich, full, heartbreaking novel to "torture porn." They say that what Jude goes through isn't believable. I agree that Yanagihara pushes the story to its limit. At the same time, though, the underlying story rings true. Predators are adept at spotting potential victims and it is not unheard of for victims of abuse to have been abused by multiple people. To think otherwise is naive at best. There are people in this world for whom every day is a struggle. They struggle to stay alive. They struggle to find some sort of normality. They struggle with the absolute loneliness of their existence. Frequently, they don't succeed and that's painful. There's also the issue of victims being heard and believed. Yanagihara tests the reader in this way, too. At what point do you stop believing Jude's story? At what point is his victimization beyond the pale and something we shouldn't discuss? I think those issues are what's at the core of the novel, as you intimated. Yanagihara forces the reader's hand. You can have empathy. You can sit with Jude, no matter how uncomfortable you are while doing so, or you can turn away. Anyway, I am pleased to see that someone out there got it. Well done.

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Thanks, Regina! And thanks for the insightful comment. Few books seem to have this interplay between author and reader. Others clearly find it frustrating. I find it fascinating. Glad you liked the video :)

@ludovicjeremien 2 года назад

Makes you angry, huh? I wonder how queer men feel.

@ness4977 Год назад

This is perfectly put.

@nilesoien4439 7 месяцев назад

I'm glad it worked for you, but boy, it really didn't for me. It just stopped being believable. I wasn't offended, I was just disengaged. I finished the book with a "Meh". The main character didn't feel real, so I had a hard time caring. To each their own, I suppose.

@beatrixpendragon 4 года назад

I have finished this book last night, and I am still processing my feelings for it. Off the top of my head all i can feel is grief. This is one of those books that make you feel old once you finish it.

@bhaktichokshi 4 года назад

I finished it an hour ago and it feels like a part of me slowly dies with it

@marshallmurmeltier8929 4 года назад

I just finished it and I have the feeling it'll stick with me for a long time

@jacobharris4838 3 года назад

Finishing the last few pages feels like reaching the end of a long life

@samramajeed5315 3 года назад

Yes true

@samramajeed5315 3 года назад

@@bhaktichokshi I finished it two days ago still not over it 😭😭😭

@hskxskdwj 4 года назад

I never understood the people who complain about beings being "too sad" or "too traumatizing", not only is it such an insult to people who actually have been sexual abused in their childhood--it also stupid to read a book that is dealing with sexual abuse and then to expect it to be an easy ride. Things like the ones depicted in little life ARE happening in real life and Hanya Yanahigara did not shy away from the topic or tried to trivialize the abuse, she depicted it as neutral and realistically as possible (well in my opinion at least). If you're going to read a book about sexual abuse you will have to come prepared. Don't read this book if you're not in the right mental state to be confronted with the topics this book deals with. The depiction of the abuse isn't supposed to be a comfortable read, so don't expect it to be one. I've been abused in my early childhood and I've found her portrayal of the sexual abuse very accurate and very realistic (I'm thinking of the way Brother Luke manipulated Jude to come with him). Sometimes I felt like the book was speaking what's been my mind. It's annoying how authors are not even allowed to tackle heavy topics like sexual abuse, they're expected to depict it as mild as possible, to not upset anyone. Authors should be allowed to write about topics that could upset some audiences, but then again, if you're sensitive about topics like these, you shouldn't have grabbed the book in the first place.

@ninkepie3764 Год назад

Genuine question: How is saying this book is "too traumatising" and insult to real victims? If anything it's the exact truth. Honestly this type of situation is nothing less than "too traumatising" and I think people who suffered through stuff like this would probably say its even more than that. I don't think everyone saying this is complaining. I've only read the plot description of this book and it that alone already seems way too traumatising to read or experience. Also, one of the reviews I heard was that the descriptions of what happens to Jude are so graphic, it's almost teaching you how to do them. I don't think people were expecting this to be an easy ride. They were probably expecting it not to be such a graphic one. After all, there are so many other books that focus on things like sexual abuse without going into extreme detail.

@didashinobi 5 лет назад

One of greatest book review about “A Little Life” I ‘ve ever seen. Thank you!

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Thanks, Dida! Means a lot.

@bellacooper7937 3 года назад

i really love your comment on how this is meant to hurt you and push you to the brink and if you put it down it almost validates jude’s belief that if he tells people they will leave him. i really love this book but always wondering was it just hanya yanigahara trying to drag us until we just couldn’t take it anymore but this really changed my view on this idea and it was really well thought out. this was a beautiful review

@RickMacDonnell 3 года назад

I’m so happy to have helped, Bella 😊 Thanks so much for watching. This was such a lovey comment!

@drawntostories5940 5 лет назад

A Little Life has been all over the place here in Finland for the past month or so. Why? Because, as you might be aware, Finland kicked Canada's ass in Ice Hockey World Championship and won gold. The goalkeeper, Kevin Lankinen, is an avid reader, and he mentioned he was reading A Little Life. So, as a result, ice hockey fans and their mothers all around Finland wanted to read the book. Bookstores ran out of copies, library queues became enormous. Probably a common graduation gift as well this year. Currently the Finnish translation of the novel is a top seller and there was a need for a reprint to meet the demand. Pretty much all the country is reading A Little Life at the moment! Imagine hundreds of ice hockey fans (mostly men) with this book in their hands, turned into readers by the goalkeeper's recommendation.

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Did you really have to rub it in that Finland whooped us in the final? LOL. But seriously, that's so cool! Glad to see an athlete using his platform to contribute to the reading community. That almost never happens. Very cool story, thanks for letting me know. (And congrats on the Gold. I always love the Finland teams. Perennial underdogs, but you're always so good. The camaraderie is fantastic.)

@Limet91 2 года назад

@@RickMacDonnell That's the reason why i read that book and it hit me hard. It was the best book i have read and gave me inspiration read more books.

@austinanderson4196 3 года назад

I both love and hate the tragic conclusion after spending 800 pages making a strong connection with Jude is that sometimes the people who most deserve happy endings just simply don't get them. And I only hate it because of the physical pain I felt reading the last few pages and learning how Jude's story ended. I've never had a book cause me to genuinely sob into my pillow, and I still can't think about this book without tearing up.

@Cuyt24 2 года назад

it wasn't that sad

@lindescherrenburg8092 2 года назад

the worst thing about this book for me was after the book, I had no clue what to read next and was so stuck. i felt like nothing i could possibly read would live up to this book. honestly I'm still stuck and i still feel like this😂

@comicback Год назад

I finished ALL a few days ago and weirdly enough I’ve started reading Trainspotting- the bizarre and messed up things that happen in it are less heavy and destroying than ALL, so far anyway. I’ve never seen the movie but have had the book for ages and I actually felt compelled to pick it up after finishing ALL

@renaissauce9516 2 года назад

SPOILER ALERT I actually liked the fact that Willem became Jude's romantic partner without the sex. Had Jude never endured the abuse he did, he would've been able date in a conventional way. He spoke of loneliness and wanting to feel the intimate touch of another person. When Willem stroked his brows while they lay in bed, he liked it because it wasn't sexual, but intimate. Having Jude's needs fulfilled without the sex might not be fulfilling for us since we're used to conventional relationship models, but to him, it was exactly what he wanted. Willem and Jude's friendship felt like a marriage to me from the beginning. Their devotion to each other made the relationship transition feel natural to me. The fact that Willem gave up sex with him, and always covered for him by, for example, saying they're in an open relationship to make him feel normal, was absolute soulmate behavior.

@Cuyt24 2 года назад

I don't think Jude was gay. He probably could have sex with a woman. Gay sex repulsed him. He was afraid of Harold unzipping in his pants. Willem was supposed to be straight but he also bi and wanted painful sex but he was lonely so he accepted it but he just wanted friendship.

@sarahno899 5 лет назад

"You seriously wanted more about JB?! That guy sucked!" - This is so true haha. I'm so perplexed by how people I have seen talk about how much JB sucked.

@Liz-iu5lx 4 года назад

Sarah No To be honest I think JB was the most realistic character, and that’s why so many people hated him. He is what all of us are ashamed of admitting which is selfishness, arrogance, impulse, regret. But also sensitivity, art. I wanted to punch him in the face,hug him, and I really liked him because he’s a mirror to all of us, telling us to be better.

@14sakuya26 4 года назад

@@Liz-iu5lx yeah same i could see myself being JB. In that 4 group of friends, he was the clown, the entertainer. a privileged person (as many of us are) among people who grew up with very very little (Jude and Wilem). he even admitted to doing drugs because he wanted to make himself seem interesting. how many of us have wanted to be interesting? like jude said, being able to question life's purpose is a privilege in some sense, and i feel many readers hated JB because he was a realistic portray of themselves as opposed to Jude who had to contain any selfish, impulsive emotion due to his trauma.

@annerittwage1401 3 года назад

@@Liz-iu5lx We all know a JB.

@annerittwage1401 3 года назад

@@14sakuya26 I saw myself more in Jude. But we tend to judge in others what we most judge within ourselves. That's why I think that Jude and JB are way more similar than we think.

@whatpageareyouon 5 лет назад

What’s always struck me about this book is its constant defense and demonstration of friendship. This book, to me, was constantly always trying to ask the reader why we see friendship as sacred, when, if you think about it, friendship doesn’t necessarily have the societal impact or merits that romantic relationships have. I know people say A Little Life is “the great gay novel” but I honestly have no idea why. As you point out Jude and Willem’s relationship here, I too love it, but I didn’t see it as the defining part of the book. I especially loved what you said concerning JB and Malcom’s overall impact, I agree that their being in and out of the story is intentional to allow Jude the choices of friendship, and not to take even his friendship with them for granted. Because friendship....it’s so tricky. There can be betrayal as we know from Jude’s past based on someone he thought he could trust, but there’s also so much warmth, especially in such private and pivotal scenes. Two of my favorite scenes, which is maybe why I keep coming back to this book every year for the past 3 1/2 years: - When Jude sees JB’s, “Willem looking at Jude” - And of course, the ending! How Jude ends with the optimism of about to tell Harold a story, something like “well, it all started one night on a roof...” and I think, possibly, it might have been the happiest Jude has been in the story when he’s about to tell that story-it emphasizes how we all always fall into the ease and access to our memories and why we love stories and storytelling, I think. ANYWAYS lol, great thoughts Rick. It made me want to reread the book very soon : )

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

I know what you mean about the "great gay novel" thing. I'm certainly not opposed to it being that, but I didn't really see it that way either. It was more about love and friendship, to me, than specifically gay love and friendship. I can't believe you read this book every year. Wow. That's asking a lot of yourself, emotionally. You're much braver than I am LOL. Thanks for the kind words and the awesome comments. Always love to see a long comment. I'm glad you stuck with me for 25 minutes :P

@FaridaAhmed-q8o 3 года назад

omg. the part where you mentioned that the book ended by jude telling a happy story from the first chapters when he was with his closest friends, i think that was when he was the happiest as well. it does make sense as why the book ended with that memory, 1- to recognize that jude and willem being together is not the turning point of the story nor the magical cure to jude. and 2- that friendship is superior. he was the happiest back then, surrounded by his longest, dearest friends. genius. ❤️

@lettie8259 3 года назад

What i liked most about the book was the fact in some places I found myself thinking, 'wouldn't it just be easier if Jude killed himself?'. I thought the author was very clever to put you into Jude's thought process like that, because although I loved him, I found myself viewing him as he viewed himself; a burden to others.

@naomimills2549 4 года назад

You have solidified my feelings for this book, I thought for a while I must of been wrong to find it so powerful and amazing when there are so many reviews saying she cannot write, when that is simply not true and you summed it up in one video so thank you 💛

@RickMacDonnell 4 года назад

Naomi Mills People saying that she cannot write are just lazily admitting the content isn’t for them and they don’t know how to articulate it. She can clearly write. I’m so glad you enjoyed the video, Naomi! Hopefully it helped sort out some of your feelings 😊

@marybishop6105 3 года назад

People said she can’t write?!?!?!!!!

@xneenz 5 лет назад

19:47 ugh my favorite moment in the entire book! That’s when I broke.

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Same :(

@marybishop6105 3 года назад

Omg me too. The grilled cheese with the crusts cut off and to think he has never had that 😭

@idontplayislay9439 3 года назад

I am glad that ,at least, there was another soul that truely felt a glimpse of hope during that moment when Jude cried and cried ,for everything. For a moment, I felt that Jude had taken his very first step to recovery. But then again, the story took another acute curve. Nontheless, it has been one of the most magnificent, yet devastating novels I've read in quite a while; and Rick, yours is unmistakably the most honest and thorough review I've ever read on the internet about A Little Life.

@RickMacDonnell 3 года назад

Thank for such a kind comment. What a great way to start my day :) I'm glad you enjoyed it!

@zoenavapanich4299 4 года назад

this is my favorite video about a little life

@RickMacDonnell 4 года назад

Awww, I'm so glad! It's one of my favourites that I've made, for sure. Thanks for watching!

@mollymurphy6017 3 года назад

A beautiful reaction. This book became my favorite of all time the second I closed the book. It’s been two months and I haven’t spent a day not thinking about this story. The love in my heart for Willem and Jude feels so real because we got to know them on such a deep personal level. I agree so much with you about how the traumatizing moments aren’t what the story is about. The story is about the people and who they are. I don’t think I will ever find another book that impacts me like this.

@RickMacDonnell 3 года назад

Thanks so much for watching, Molly! And for sharing your story. I think everyone who feels touched by this book feels like it becomes a part of them somehow. I'll certainly never forget the book, that's for sure.

@ginac.6567 4 года назад

I just started reading this book and i dont have anyone to talk about it with! My family and friends dont read books, so i guess im going through this emotional roller coaster all alone :'(

@kateharrison8203 4 года назад

Mee too :( I started today My Christmas isn’t the same

@megandavis8098 4 года назад

I’m also reading it!

@marshallmurmeltier8929 4 года назад

Same!! I never wanted to talk about a book more than this one

@majestycrush 3 года назад

Me neither! I can't wait to meet someone who has read this book lol

@jena4284 3 года назад

i feel you. ive read all the tweets and pins and cried in my bathroom and on my walks and now im crying again with everyones' reading vlogs

@annerittwage1401 3 года назад

Just wanted to point out that Hanya Yanagihara might have "done this to Jude", but his actions are very much in line with how somebody with a history of severe trauma would act in terms of finding a partner and whatnot. I feel like how it ended was always how it should have ended. This is how many people with trauma expect it to end, and it did. Spoiler: He wouldn't have left Willem. But ultimately if Willem would have broke it off with Jude officially, Jude would have killed himself as well. Once he's in a relationship it's hard for him to actually break up and be his own person, because he doesn't know who he is. He doesn't care to know. He only cares to survive/ for this person. But once Willem was dead there was no actual point in living anymore. I get it, I totally understand it. The light in his life was out and he no longer had any direction.

@anshitamehrotra 3 года назад

The BEST review on this book, one I didn't know I needed. Finished it an hour ago. I will never forget Jude.

@sarahno899 5 лет назад

Wow this is so articulate; you managed to encapsulate the exact same thoughts I had on the novel. I loved this story and appreciated the talent behind it. This is exactly the review I needed to watch because you helped me understand my own thoughts and feelings that I couldn't quite put into words. I've never seen one of your videos before, but you just gained a new subscriber! Looking forward to catching up on your other content :)

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Wow, Sarah! This is so nice to hear. I needed to hear it, honestly. Helps remind me why I spend the time doing this, haha. I'm glad I was able to express some of the things you were haven't a hard time getting across. Happy you loved the book!

@PHLgrrl 3 года назад

My god, this was brilliant. Your review perfectly addressed all the weight I've been carrying in my heart since I read A Little Life. This book will affect me for the rest of my life and I feel like Jude and Willem are a part of me now. Your review was what I didn't realize I needed to help process this. It affected me so deeply that I feel mad and insulted when I read about people who didn't love it. I don't know if I can ever read the book again, but I will definitely watch your video over and over. Thank you so much.

@RickMacDonnell 3 года назад

Charity, this was so sweet! Thanks so much for such a lovely comment. Very much appreciated :) To be honest, very few books "stay" with me longer than a couple of weeks, and A Little Life has managed to stay with me for years. And like you, I'm sure it'll stay a lot longer than that. Thanks for watching!

@hyanchichou7179 4 года назад

The last point you made in the review I feel connected with that so much. It’s horrifying to see that in real life when you were betrayed by someone close as a child, it’s very possible that you’re not going to find another person to fully trust in your adult life. And the consequences of that is something unimaginable for people who suffering from that daily.

@margaret4641 Год назад

I read this book as a teenager and I felt completely lost. I couldn’t tell my friends about it because we were young and, though I am an extremely experienced reader and could handle it, they could not. I couldn’t tell my parents because they would have been mad at me for reading a book like that. And I felt a loneliness that I never really had before, because I knew a life (albeit fictional) that desperately needed help and I could do nothing. The powerlessness and loneliness of not being able to help someone or even talk to others about it became nearly tangible by reading this book. It’s a feeling that millions of people must feel about the real world every day. I never regretted reading it because I absolutely love the writing and I was glad I read it but, man, it was a rough time for a while.

6 месяцев назад

You should feel proud of yourself ( in a good way ) of wanting to help.

@HardcoverHearts 5 лет назад

As with you, I am so glad I read this but will not revisit it. I binged it on the weekend after it was released. You aren’t kidding about needing to talk this out. My husband would walk past me as I am on the couch, sobbing uncontrollably, asking, “Baby- why are you doing this to yourself?!” I can say that this book changed me more than any other book has in my life. Until that point, I had been one of those people who felt that friendships are sacred and that anything can be solved with those bonds. It was only through experiencing friendship and it’s limits through Jude’s eyes that I saw how there are things that good intentions, deep bonds and love can’t solve or fix. It also made me realize that we ask/demand so much from those who are suffering. And I mean deep suffering. All the platitudes and positive thinking mantras we foist upon them when we have little clue the true levels of pain they are dealing with at any given point. The romance we have with pushing through suffering is sick, when seen through Jude’s eyes. It made me finally respect each individual’s journey as theirs to navigate, in a way I never had before. The thing that makes me so upset when dealing with people saying these things could never happen so often to one person is how they don’t see the predator/prey aspect to what she is laying out. Predators can see people who have been damaged in the past. Caleb recognizes Jude’s defense mechanisms and knew exactly how to manipulate them. I know people who have escaped abusive homes to move to SF to find freedom to only be re-victimized over and over again. It happens. And it’s horrible that it becomes so commonplace with some people that it’s more familiar than kindness and love. I could go on forever but this is one book that I will say that I love but can not recommend to others. They need to come to it of their own calling, and not be ashamed to put it down if it’s too close to home or triggering. I think it’s a marvel. Great video.

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

This is one of my favourite comments ever :) Your thoughts on the predator/prey aspect are sooooo insightful. Really glad you brought that up. People who've suffered can tend to attract more suffering (whether they choose it or not). And don't get me started on Caleb. I wanted to kill that motherf@$%@% more than any character ever I think. I also love that you brought up the "romance" of pushing through trauma or illness or what have you. My brother was extremely sick for about 12 years and the amount of people who got tired of watching him struggle was staggering. It's so much more complicated to deal with when you're in it. Thanks so much, again, for the wonderful comment! Lots to think about.

@jessaboutbooks7799 5 лет назад

WOW, dude, this video! When I bought this book years ago I looked all over youtube for a video that would be helpful in any way with information about the book, its story, or the reading experience and I couldn't find one that had in depth information or discussion that I was looking for! THIS IS IT. Not only do I love your approach to the "review" video as "a thoughts on this book" structure and see the benefit of doing it that way, I thought that all your thoughts were so well articulated and added value to the book and the discussion! Number 6, damn.... picking up this book much more sooner than I anticipated because of this video! Can't wait for other books in this series!

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Jess! Thanks so much, this was such a lovely comment. I'm SO glad that point 6 resonated with you. That's the most important part of the video, I think. That was the part that I really wanted to talk about. So I'm very happy to see it land :) I hope you enjoy the book, but yeah, be aware of the excruciating journey you're going on. It's not always easy, but it CAN be rewarding (for some people). If you don't jive with it, that's okay too. It just doesn't work for some people and that's perfectly fine. 100% understand it. But if you like it, please let me know! I'd love to chat more about it.

@h.a3971 2 года назад

After I finished the book I watched almost every review on youtube and every reading vlogs but this one is easily THE BEST review you said everything end expressed my thoughts and feelings thank you and looking forward to more reviews from you

@RickMacDonnell 2 года назад

Thank you so much! This was so lovely. Made my day 😊

@crystal7893 3 года назад

I loved this book so much. But I do truly wish they dove more into JBs drug addiction. I was okay with Malcom turning into a background character, only bringing him up to grow judes story. But it felt weird setting up this whole storyline for JB and then just never mentioning it again. It could have been a great story line. I feel like it could have even helped to grow judes story as well

@graceyang9607 Год назад

because i'm a miserable person who still has not gotten over this book, even after three years, i am back on the internet scouring for reviews and discussions as i start to reread it. your thoughts were illuminating and i especially agreed with the first point you made. why do we constantly share this book even though it's not an easy read? because the emotions it awakens in us are hard to deal with alone. we are all jude, to some and any degree, and we are all simultaneously his friends. we deal with trauma ourselves, but we also listen to others. this book is a mirror of our social lives. so thank you for that reminder before i go sob my eyes out again.

@amanda-vm7wv 3 года назад

hi! this review was incredible. i read this book in a day, because i knew that if i knew that there was more that jude would have to endure in this book, i wouldn’t be able to live without thinking about everything. this book destroyed me. i’m only 16, and i think that somewhere in my undeveloped mind i held onto the hope that jude would realize that asking for help would make him less of the burden that he perceives himself to be (by the way, it tore my heart apart to see jude doing so much to help other people so that they would never think this way of him. he never realized his innate value to the people around him), and more importantly, bring relief to his suffering. but i also simultaneously knew that hope was just like the hope that he had for his legs: it would never get better; it would probably only get worse. because that isn’t who he is, his trauma has built him to never expose himself to anyone again, he is terrified of being vulnerable, and so he tests relationships so that he knows what he did if people leave him. i was incredibly frustrated with this dynamic, but i knew why, and this is where i saw yanagihara’s genius. but what absolutely destroyed me is that when the person he truly trusted was taken away from him, jude knew that it wasn’t his fault. he couldn’t have done anything about it. and he feels like he has to deal with it on his own; he doesn’t want anyone to capitalize on his vulnerability, and the last person he could talk to is gone. that is when he truly feels like he has lost his grip on the world, he can’t do anything to control anything in his life. anyway, it would be great if i could have a chat with someone bout this book. as i said, im quite young and i constantly debate whether i was too young to have read this or not. i don’t have anyone to talk to about this as none of my friends have read it and i’m not going to ask them to. but simmering in my own thoughts simply makes me relive this sadness and i really think that i need to let it go.

@jordanregensburger3615 16 дней назад

Hey I know your reply is 3y old but if you see this, I just wanted you to know that I don’t think you were too young to read this. But if you read it again now or later on I believe you will get different takes on what your view is currently and from the past. Which is beautiful. I hope you found someone to chat about this book with🫶

@sarahfolger5232 3 года назад

Omygosh. 1st time viewer here. Rick, I love your review and thoughts. I wear my "Jude&JB&Willem&Malcolm" t-shirt in hopes that someday I'll meet someone who understands it. I imagine we would just look at eachother & say "yeah, we went through that."

@RickMacDonnell 3 года назад

Covid times would be an unfortunate time to run into a person with that shirt on because my reflex would be to run over and give them a hug LOL. Thanks for watching the video, Sarah! And for leaving such a sweet comment. It's very very appreciated :)

@twentyfly9428 3 года назад

Also, it’s good to see the male perspective on this incredible legend of a book!

@mimikenzie27 4 года назад

Completely agree that I was so invested in Jude and Willem's friendship that it seemed off/forced that they became romantic. Really great review! You captured a bunch of thoughts I had while reading

@RickMacDonnell 4 года назад

RaisinBrann Thanks! Great username 😂

@em8842 4 года назад

I read this book a week ago, the last 220 pages I read in one setting (a MISTAKE), and I cried and cried and cried. It was weirdly cathartic even with how emotionally exhausted I was by then. It was the most violently upsetting reading experience I've had, it was absolutely relentless and crushing, and I completely agree with you that that is the point. I haven't stopped thinking about it since I put it down, I resonated with it deeply. I loved it.

@zoetravis1459 3 месяца назад

This is the best review of the book out there. Everytime someone I know who finishes ALL- I send them this link. Thank you for your deep reflection and brilliant perspective of one of the best books I’ve ever read!

@BookishTexan 5 лет назад

Really like what you said about the review that suggested that "victimization" was about the new status of victimhood. I havent read the book, but now I want to. I might wait till I'm sure I'm in solid place emotionally.

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Oh god yes. If you're feeling remotely fragile, don't even bother.

@GabrielaZucoloto 3 года назад

What a wonderful review! I finished this book a month ago and I still haven't been able to move on. It become one of my favourite books. A masterpiece!

@JasmineReads 5 лет назад

YES. This. Is. So. Good. Thank you for this video and sharing all your thoughts so well! I completely agree with your points - I was nodding all the way through. Its such a complex book. But I found it to be amazing. One of the most powerful reading experiences I've ever had!

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Thanks, Jasmine! I know you loved that book, and I really value your opinion, so this comment means a lot. It really is a lot more complex than *some* people give it credit for. I honestly could have talked for twice this long, easily. The first cut of the video was actually 45 minutes LOL

@melissaberges702 5 лет назад

I just finished it now and I am literally sobbing. 😣😩. Masterpiece.

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Emotionally devastating.

@veronikapekarkova4091 4 года назад

And imagine me reading it four times :DDD and definitely not for the last time. And I had no one to share it with when I read it for the first time :D Anyway - great video :D

@RickMacDonnell 4 года назад

FOUR TIMES? I couldn't imagine :P

@egrojarom3846 4 года назад

definitely is a book I will revisit at least once a year, the characters feel so alive in my head is incredible

@rayalantin6742 2 года назад

8:08 YES omg thank you for articulating what I couldn’t myself

@RickMacDonnell 2 года назад

Thanks for watching, Raya!

@stantonspencer9659 2 года назад

I was one of the people who read this book without a support group or people to share it with, that’s what made this video so awesome because everything you said I just completely agree with. So bone achingly sad but so so so important and amazing

@NoaPit04 2 года назад

I just finished reading the book yesterday and had to see what others had to say about it. So first of all I have to say that I really loved your review and you are so sensitive and honest. Second of all I think that this book really shows that some people's lives are actually this bad and there is nothing anyone can do to save them, we can only ease the pain. It's hard to acknowledge the fact that things can be this bad for people around us and we might not even know. I am grateful for the face that we live in an area where mental illnesses and trauma of any kind is talked about and I hope we will reach the point where no one will be ashamed of his trauma. I know he is a fictional character but I actually love Jude and hope no one will ever go through anything like this. ❤️

@GypsyEyes Год назад

this was beautiful. thank you for voicing what i couldnt.

@alenakirby8311 4 месяца назад

Yes! This is the discussion I needed upon finishing A Little Life. Thank you!

@oyster17ful 4 года назад

Hi Rick. Thank you so much for your intelligent and insightful review of A Little Life. I really enjoyed listening to and watching your video. I too ADORED this book even though I now feel like I'm suffering from PTSD! When I finished the book I felt completely bereft....the characterisation was exceptional. Jude was such an extraordinary person wasn't he? To have experienced all that he did in his early life and then go onto such success in his professional capacity was, in itself, heartbreaking and inspirational. And yes, JB was an idiot! But this only further reinforced Jude's generosity of heart as to how he forgave him for his malice. I watched an interview with the author and when asked why she chose to write this novel, she said that she wanted to show what happens to someone who doesn't improve, what happens where situations aren't reconciled. I thought this was one of the most interesting things about this book. Although Jude found Harold and Willem, he never totally recovered from what happened to him. And, although that was gutwrenching and so upsetting, it was probably a very realistic take on the situation. How could anyone ever recover from that? My ONLY very small criticism of this book is the improbable success of the 4 friends' careers, which didn't seem completely plausible to me. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this.

@SpaghettyBabyNoodleBoy 4 года назад

This is the most beautiful book I’ve ever read. I was reading all the suffering and sadness and.. I was enjoying it so much! Hanya Yanagihara has a beautiful prose.

@CL-jw4ei 2 года назад

I haven’t seen anybody critique the writing style, it’s objectively a beautifully written book. It’s also emotionally manipulative and (by the authors own admission in interviews) exaggerated in both good and bad aspects. But the thing that disturbs me most is how yanagihara talks about doing no research into child abuse and living with disabilities, while also apparently not having any personal experience in them. I don’t think it’s bad if you loved the book but I see many reviews giving the author more credit than they deserve, when the wonderful insights and introspections they gained were in big part their own achievement after being confronted with this heavy material. In my opinion Yanagihara wrote this as an experiment into how much pain she could make the readers feels and I personally see that as a waste of the very captivating and relatable characters and story she depicted in the first third of the book

@KasteelWell 2 года назад

Please don’t let this dissuade you from reading the book. Yes, it is sad, but the quality of the writing makes it so worth it.

@mariehullis4342 Год назад

I am 3 years late finding your review but the algorithm pushed it because I have been consumed by A Little Life - the book and I was lucky to see the play adaptation currently being stage in London last week. I just wanted to say that I truly appreciated your review, you articulated so much of how I felt about it.

@shethewriter Год назад

This is one of the more thoughtful reviews of this book, thank you for sharing. Still figuring out how I feel about it, it is sad, but it’s also life-affirming in some ways-like Andy says, Jude wants to feel like his life, no matter how traumatic, is still a life. And she shows how is really was a life. I personally don’t love the very end, and that we weren’t with him in that moment. Still thinking about it. People also forget that some of the most beautiful parts of the novel are not about Jude at all. She paints portraits of love, friendship, grief and joy. The novel is so rich.

@kaitlintyler2528 3 месяца назад

Thanks for this video

@GypsyEyes Год назад

btw, people saying that jude's story isnt believable have no clue about the horrors of life. i have met and intimately known people who have gone through what jude went through, if not worse things.

@marlenaeva3813 8 месяцев назад

I live with trauma and I know exactly what Jude feels. You can't accept love because you think, at one point in the relationship something will happen in this person's mind and he'll turn into a monster and destroy you. There are people like that who will put up a front (great, charming, sweet) but deep down are narcissists and all they will want is to use and abuse you. So, after many relationships with these horrible types it's almost impossible to believe people are NOT like that, they don't turn into something terrible. Jude is very realistic as a character hit by trauma. Thanks for this video. I've watched many videos about this book, my obsession with it is through the roof :)

@DarthAlgar5 4 года назад

I never usually comment, but your thoughts on this book are so well put and put into words a lot of what I couldn’t after reading this book. Thumbs up 👍

@RickMacDonnell 4 года назад

Thanks! Glad you liked it. I really appreciate it.

@mxxpower 2 года назад

This is the best review of a little life i’ve ever watched. I agree with literally everything said. A Little Life is my favourite book, the writing is so beautiful and I love all the filler and the intense descriptions of Jude’s pain. It’s real, some trauma never fades from your life and it impacts you forever. Can’t get mad about that. Edit: I also hate how people say the book is poorly written. I’m getting a few quotes from the book tattooed on my body, I want to read those words every day. I can’t get over them.

@hetimothy9199 4 года назад

This is a beautiful review of a very important book. Finished the book around the same time last year, and truly this is a book that stays with you and haunts you for the rest of your life. It's never been as cathartic as any reading experience I'd been through. It is beyond me that some people would say that this book is not believable or too over the top. I hope people can get past their own lived experience and be empathetic of all other different lives being lived, that's beyond our imagination and understanding of pain and grief. I love how Hanya mentioned this in one of her interviews, 'Any life is as big, or as small, as any other. And that was it!'

@RickMacDonnell 4 года назад

I can understand people railing against the unbelievability of it, at least at first. It does take quite a bit of empathy and open-mindedness to comprehend a life that's THIS horrible, I think. Especially if you haven't lived anything close to this. But by the end I would have hoped, with the entire scope of the story, that it starts to make sense why Hanya went as far as she did. But yeah ... this isn't a novel for everyone, and that's okay. Not everyone can comes to terms with it, and that doesn't bother me. It's a lot, I get it.

@traceymills1628 5 лет назад

This is such a fantastic review. I never had anyone to discuss this with when I read it a few years ago as I didn’t want to recommend it to anyone. It is the most impactful book I have ever read. It lifted reading to a place I didn’t realise it could go. It made me see the world differently and people’s pain differently. Thank you for your passionate discussion.

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Thanks Tracey! That's so nice of you. I feel bad that you didn't have anyone to talk to about the book. That feels like a must for me, haha. The book really made me analyze what I knew about other people's pain. Especially long-term, self-inflicted pain. So grueling.

@shadiaenlavida8998 3 года назад

I looooved your review, I watched another booltubers reviews and wasn't really happy of their thoughts of this book 😭 I finally found someone with whom I agree

@RickMacDonnell 3 года назад

Thanks so much! I’m so glad you loved the book, and found my review helpful/enjoyable. It was a hell of an experience! We need people to appreciate it with us when we’re through with it, I think.

@nataliewindt9854 12 дней назад

Your point at about 14 minutes....wow. This is such an important question I wish more readers would ask themselves.

@anenthusiasticreader 5 лет назад

Rick! This is so good and you capture why the book remains in our conversations and thoughts and also why it's so polarizing. The most endearing relationship for me is how Jude is loved so purely by Harold. (It's been awhile, so the particulars of Harold's other family is gone from my memory now.) You've reawakened for me the intense few days I was reading, not able to stop being part of it even when I went to sleep at night. It might be hard for you to get into another book quickly. Thanks for this review.

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Thanks so much, Sonya! I actually felt like I had to dive right into another book as soon as I was done. Something completely different, just as a bit of a cleanser. I needed to feel something different than fear and dread LOL. So glad you liked the book, and the video. Your kind words are very much appreciated :)

@norma2285 5 лет назад

I was very moved by this book and had no one to talk to about it either! Loved your thoughtful review. Thanks

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Thanks so much for watching. I appreciate the kind words :) (I hope you've found someone to talk to about it!)

@deathwitheponine 3 года назад

To point 13...it is exhausting waiting for people to turn into the people you expect them to be, so a lot of us just continually brace for it. Or we make an effort, however subconscious, to push people away before we ever have to have the 'oh, of course, here it is...' moment. Carrying trauma your whole life is fucking exhausting. It's so bound up with your every day life that trying to put it down seems impossible, and so I understood Jude there around the end. Sometimes putting your trauma down means you leave your life behind. It's hard to carry this shit, and every year it gets harder to not put it down but here we are. I finished this book last night and I've been reading reviews and watching booktubers talk about it and it's sometimes infuriating when people just don't get the point of it, so I really appreciate your in depth video on it, even as it has been a couple years ago since it was published. Thank you for making such excellent and well thought out points. I hope you're having a beautiful day today.

@samosborn-kemp9056 4 года назад

I loved this video a lot, it really made me think about some quotes that led me to understand Jude, and then made me think about why they were so significant. Your 13th thought made me think of possibly the first quote in the book that completely floored me and revealed so much about Jude's life and his thinking, which was "Not having sex: it was one of the best things about being an adult." Since sex is often seen as something you are supposed to enjoy, a freedom that comes with being an adult, it is so telling that his freedom is the lack of it because of his childhood. Your video made me revisit that quote and think about its importance. Great video!

@FFOGHORN 3 месяца назад

Very well done, sir. I am astounded by how many reviewers completely missed the mark on this book.

@suriwest6271 3 года назад

am i the only one who didn’t cry at the end but sobbed after almost everything else? edit: SPOILER WARNING!!!! I cried especially hard after Willem died. I literally couldn’t stop for hours straight, and I don’t cry easily. I somehow didn’t cry at the ending though? I’ve thought about it a lot because the ending did affect me a lot. A year later I still think about it. I think I didn’t cry because it was the one thing we all saw coming. From the first chapter I knew Jude would eventually kill himself. It didn’t make me feel any less empty, but I almost had a sense of relief? Jude has been in pain for so long, only staying alive because of others so I was almost happy for him? Because now he’s finally free

@dammitmom 3 года назад

Death is benign, it only hurts the living.

@reynaxm1367 3 года назад

I cried in the end. But i totally understand you. I expected Jude to die especially after Willem died. I cried when willem died too and after i finished that part I went to sleep. Then I woke up sobbing bc i dreamed with Willem and Jude still in uni. He was such a kind soul. The dream was willem asking Jude this. Im going to write it so that its easier: “Why do you never smile, Jude?” Jude looked up, not really expecting that. “I dont have anything to smile about. I’m sorry.” “It must be hard not having anything to smile about. Can you make me a promise to smile at least once a day?” Willem showed his dazzling smile. “I promise.” Jude said after a while of staring into his eyes. He knew he was lying but he did it for Willem. For you, I promise, Willem, he thought.

@Swanky11 3 года назад

I don't think I had any tears left by the final pages. Strangely enough, I think it's the happy moments that caused me to cry so much. The simple human moments of love and friendship and just kindness in contrast with the tragedy and suffering makes me weep. There is that one moment at Harolds and Julia's house, Jude is just so fed up with life at that point, where he acts out like a child and instead of the punishment he expects he receives unconditional love and understanding. I tear up even thinking about it

@bookishsabrina 5 лет назад

Your discussion was fantastic, and it really reminded me of why this book is one of my all-time favorites. I love that I keep thinking new things about it, and finding new things to love, almost four years after reading it.

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Thanks, Sabrina 😊 I don’t envy anyone the journey of going through this book twice, haha, but I wish you luck. You obviously know what you’re getting into!

@14sakuya26 4 года назад

Regarding the asynchronous nature of the book, I recall the passage where Malcolm is moving into the dorm room with Jude and the others, and Jude (who was 16 at the time) marvels at how much stuff Malcolm came with (including a television and computer). That a (albeit wealthy) college freshmen would have his own TV and personal computer, leads me to believe that Jude was in his teens at the earliest the 90's, more likely early 2000's.

@aliciatorralba3621 Год назад

What an amazing review. Thank you 🩵

@laetitiakriel5216 Месяц назад

Good review of an excellent writer. Stories like that make us more empathic human beings.

@JayShayy 5 лет назад

Hey, I have heard & read a ton of reactions to _A Little Life_ but haven't read it (probably because of most of those reactions and the perceived hype). Your review was so surprising (in the best way) and deeply felt and RIVETING. That was 25 minutes that flew by. Your review made me cry, so I don't know if I could handle the book, but thanks for pushing through all the surface buzzing to show me the book up close -- a beautiful review.

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Whew, Jay, thanks so much. I felt myself getting pretty emotional near the end of the video, so I get it :D I don't think this is a book that people HAVE to read by any means. If your gut is telling you not to, you're probably right to avoid it. But if you ever check it out, feel free to come chat about it. There's lots to say about it, clearly!

@blooddarling6664 7 месяцев назад

Very well said! I appreciate you speaking out about the reactions to this book because while it is awfully painful and tragic, it’s real life. If this was a memoir it would not be receiving the same feedback. While it is a fictional character, it’s still a raw look into what people go through that isn’t visible from the outside and that’s why it’s one of my favorite books.

@littlepeach6947 3 года назад

Jude not being able to recover from his trauma was in my opinion the point of the book. Jude can't be saved from his past the only thing that the people in his life can do is accept him how he is. and we see what happens when people don't do that and that's why i think the author put JB in the friendgroup because he is that friend that doesn't accept Jude's trauma and leaves. And the author gives us the same choice and we can leave as well. But if we continue reading we accept that this is who he is and we aren't there to judge how he copes with his trauma. For me the ending felt actually natural for how Jude behaved in this book. I always thought that this was how it was going to end. And him being able to choose when to go was also a big part of who he is as a person. I actually became a bit mad at the people around him when they didn't allow him to leave after Willem's death. For me that was again a way of how people didn't accept his choices even if i completely understand why the wanted to help him. but it still felt like violating his freedom in a way.

@arifaristiana2525 4 года назад

IM SOOOOO HAPPY I FIND THIS CHANNEL YES YES YES can't wait for the weekend for me to binge your videos

@meredithgreene4817 3 года назад

What a great review! I have friends who tell people to stay as far away as possible from this book. I disagree wholeheartedly. More people need to read this book, especially currently when there is such little empathy for others’ suffering. I just wanted to hug Jude throughout my reading and tell him everything was going to be okay (even though i figured it wasn’t going to be). Such strong emotions can only co,e out of amazing writing! Will definitely reread this one. Love your video...new subscriber here.

@renepierre9074 5 лет назад

Ugh, hearing your thoughts on this book made me want to re read it so badly. I loved what you said about turning some characters into back ground characters, I honestly can't believe there are people out there that put that under bad writing rather than character development. This video brought up so many memories! Thanks for the best "review" on A Little Life i have watched! x

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Thanks, Rene! That's ridiculously high praise, I'm honoured :) Have you re-read the book before? I can't imagine going through this again. You're braver than I am, haha.

@SakibMdNadim 2 месяца назад

My thoughts: 1. Harold had been the most undervalued character. Jude basically never gave him what he deserved. Never called him dad, didn't let him hug or touch and worst the behaved irrationally with Harold. 2. Jude is the protagonist and antagonist at the same time. 3. Hanya made him suffer so much that it doesn't feel real sometimes, the abuse from Dr. Tylor was only to make his crippled 4. This is the best review of this book

@schnioula Год назад

I just found you after finishing the book and now I‘ve seen you‘re on a break! 😮

@RickMacDonnell Год назад

I’ve been away for a while, but have been thinking of coming back soon. We’ll see! Thanks so much for watching 😊

@alexandra.a9428 3 года назад

for me, this book made all of the books Ive read before step back. and I'm not dramatic.

@drjuhia8925 4 года назад

Thankyou for this review because it is one of my best read books of all time and its hard to see it misunderstood by so many people. Especially when around point 5 or 6 that you point out the way people's negative judgments about this book verifies how jude felt was like an alibi how perfect it is. Thanks👍

@RickMacDonnell 4 года назад

Thanks so much for watching. It makes me so happy that you enjoyed it. It's a super misunderstood book-or maybe misinterpreted is a more apt word-but either way, it definitely doesn't "work" for lots of readers. Which, honestly, I do understand. It's pretty intense and if it's so far from your own experience, it can be hard to connect with it. Luckily, I felt that I could.

@egrojarom3846 4 года назад

Such a good review, as you said I read this book by myself and I had no one to talk about it and the only output I would find is book reviews videos. The thing of a little life is that almost no one likes it and I loved it. So hearing you speak so positively about it was so refreshing. I feel exactly the same as you do! Such a good book, never in my life a book has hurt me so much and taught me even more! Thanks fore your review! I definitely will hit the subscribe button!

@callmeaftercoffee 5 лет назад

*they emotionally check out* 🙋🏽‍♀️🙋🏽‍♀️🙋🏽‍♀️😂 But in all seriousness, you did a great job getting your points across, very thought-out review. Still gave you a thumbs up 😉.

@callmeaftercoffee 5 лет назад

In case were avoiding spoilers... I shall put this in a sub comment... While I still feel all the feelings I did... I also feel like because of what I was also going through in my life (still going through, but what can you do)... Maybe I can articulate better? Or explain better? I don't know. Here's trying 😂. Yes, I did get frustrated with Jude (because I was just screaming at him to please talk to someone. Friends are a good start, but a therapist is so necessary) because he wouldn't get help (and I understand, he was so abused and so emotionally broken, I GET IT), but thatead me to wanting to bash Willem, and the doctor over the head with a "is his death worth having his friendship" stick. It felt so anti-professional help, which struck me as dangerous because he didn't beat the disease. *In the end depression wins.* Now... The overwhelming feeling of hopelessness... Tmi, but I dont care... My brother moved home after being away for over a decade. We've known since before he came back that we needed to try and get him to get help. And he refuses. He actually attacked my dad (thankfully aside from a couple bruises my dad's ok) and we got him admitted to psych because he's dangerous when he's angry and we can't do anything to help him. So, we had him in a safe environment, hoping that a couple of weeks in there will at least set him in the right direction (he seems a mix of schizophrenia and or bipolar- that's what the dr said he would guess but he wasn't there long enough to know)... After barely a week my brother got ahold of some stupid shitty assawyer who got him out. And now my brother is homeless. And still refusing help and slipping through the cracks and it breaks my heart. He's also an alcoholic, and it just feels like we're going to have to watch him die in slow self-inflicted motion (much of his hurt and trauma is caused by his abusive father when he was a toddler and the loss of our brother in 1997- none of which he will speak about. He's just got 39 years of pent up hurt and rage that he only lets out with fists or drinks away). *In the end the disease wins* And on top of that, one of my best friends/my cousin, is literally fantasizing about hanging himself and tying nooses on his bad days. And what can I do? Absof*inglutely nothing. And he also doesn't seem to think he needs to speak to a professional. Someone who knows how to guide someone through those feelings. So now I'm bleeping Willem carrying this weight that I can't do anything about. And this person is a big Linkin park fan, and we all know what happened to Chester 😢. *in the end the disease wins* Like I get it. I get what she was doing and what she accomplished, and I'm not the kind of person who needs the fluffiest ending. But 812 pages of *the disease wins* was just suffocating. Much like the disease (I also get that she's trying to make this point). But I just don't see a book like this being helpful in any way. Just dangerous. Now back to the last 15 minutes of the video...

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Knowing how much you hated this book, this was very sweet LOL

@callmeaftercoffee 5 лет назад

Another Book Vlog watching your video made me have to go back and rewatch mine to remember what I said 😂

@davelewis8270 2 года назад

On point 2: in the UK there was a time around the end the 90s/early 00s there were a slew of popular books that were biographies of peoples fucked up irl abusive childhoods. One of the early ones I recall was A child called it by Dave Peltzer Personally the thing that really annoyed me about the book was that everyone was rich. It's a pet peeve of mine because I cannot relate to that trope. I did relate to Jude a lot unfortunately. The most traumatic thing for me was the booktube reaction to it. People bitching about it being torture porn and reacting as if it was an attack on them is so true to life. When people find out you've been abused they often react like you're attacking them. Their disgust for what they're being told blocks their empathy and they're unable, in the moment at least, to see that if it hurts them then it must be hurting you so much more. A lot of big booktubers have claimed the abuse was too graphic but I thought it was pretty vague. There wasn't really any detail of what was happening there. Someone also said that it contained "instructions" on how to self harm but as a self harmer I can tell you there was stuff in that book that does not work irl. Unless he's getting much higher quality razor blades than me with his rich people money.

@annewoodborne1254 Месяц назад

His book was timely because of the prevalence of paedophilia in all walks of life. Because of child - trafficking. Because many adults do not survive this kind of childhood trauma. I think Yanigahara showed great courage in writing this book. She wrote this masterpiece even though she has a day job as an editor. This book tore my soul to shreds, the first book that ever made me ugly-cry. Somehow we have to stop paedophilia. It is a pandemic.

@Em-br6ww 2 месяца назад

Loved hearing your thought out opinions. Thank you!

@pr97192 4 года назад

Yes! Yes! Yes! I agree with everything you said. This is the first book that actually punched the air out of me. It just...really changes your outlook on life. And that is so SO rare, yanagihara really created a classic

@theresea.k5749 23 дня назад

This book made me grief the death of a fictional character. It left me totally shattered, and I read it when it was rather newly published so I had no network to support me progress the trauma I had afterwards.

@rhiannonsauer8841 Год назад

I am the equivalent of a willem in this story! To have loved an individual who suffered like jude it was oddly helpful to feel and know that others are learning how it feels to be a willem. But also how Harold speaks at the end about Jude at the end. Specifically about how Harold always knew how it would end, and when it did all of Harold’s feeing . It brought back so many memories of my same experiences.

@carolinaapintoo 3 года назад

thank you for this! i finished it 2 weeks ago, read some harry potter to feel happier again and now i really want to read it again. that's how much i loved it despite being about someone who never gets better. one of my favourites

@RickMacDonnell 3 года назад

It's definitely a book you need a "chaser" for! I'm not sure I'll be able to muster up the courage to dive into the book again, but I applaud you for the (inevitable) effort. Thanks for watching!

@JosephQuinton 5 лет назад

I just watched this video for the second time today. It is truly amazing and I can easily see how this book has affected you. I will definitely be reading this novel!

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Wow, that's a lot of time in one day, Joseph LOL. Glad you enjoyed it!

@artkitty344 4 года назад

One of my favorite reviews , you described everything perfectly

@jasmine_tea_pls 11 месяцев назад

*SPOILER* This is my favorite book of all time... It is the most beautifully written, heartbreaking book I have ever read. No book has invoked such strong feelings from me- I have laughed, loved, smiled, raged, and sobbed during this experience. This isn’t an easy read in terms of both literature and content. It took me two months to finish, as I wanted to savor each moment. A lot of people like to label this as trauma porn, but it is so much more meaningful. If you've ever experienced some of these traumas or forms of abuse, I can guarantee you will understand that these are real things that happen to real people- and the realistic struggle on how people cope with it. Or you may know someone who has had the same outcome. To me it is illuminating, I can relate to Jude in some ways and I have so much love for him. There were so many moments where I just wanted to reach out to Jude and comfort him whenever he had his bad thoughts. Though he had to deal with his trauma for years, I’m even more moved by the support system he had for over 30 years or so- Who were so loyal and loving to him, who just wanted to see him get better. This book taught me a lot about family and friendship values that made me happy, knowing that Jude got through more years than he would have if he didn't have that support from them. I fell in love with all of the characters as if they were my own family… This novel surpassed fiction in my head. It has changed my view on the world and people in general, and is extremely valuable to me. It's all written in the most impressive prose. I will never come across another book like this. I have such a strong bond with all the boys and others. It took my breath away, and not a single day goes by without thinking of Jude. Nothing but respect for Hanya Yanagihara.

@elenaristevska1226 4 года назад

best review of the book i've seen, closest to my own opinions, i'm very glad i found it! liked, subscribed and i trust you for my book recs now :)

@josmith5992 5 лет назад

I agree with Juan and Jay that I didn’t realize this video was 25 minutes long, I was engrossed. I actually haven’t read or seen many negative reviews of the book although I was aware of them from what others have said, many of my booktube friends also love this book but the subject matter has always given me pause. I have Hanya Yanagihara’s People of the Trees and was going to read that first and if I loved her writing, then maybe try this but either way, excellent thoughts Rick.

@RickMacDonnell 5 лет назад

Thanks, Jo! I have People in the Trees on my shelf as well, but honestly I'm a little weary of reading it now haha. I might need a bit of a Yanagihara break after this experience. I hear that one is an emotional doozy as well.

@nothingiseverperfect Год назад

18:30 I laughed so hard at this part “You wanted mor JB? That guy sucked!”

@lunaticslair81 Год назад

I came to watch the video and then spent a very long time reading the comments. It feels great that there are so many people out there who feels what I do about the book. I read the book twice and still feel like reading it. You video is very insightful, it's good to see that you are not addressing this book as misery porn like most other youtubers.