I was going to get the book, A Little Life, after a lot of people recommended it to me. My favorite genre of books are dark fiction and non-fiction books that go into the psychological plagues trauma brings upon a persons mind. I read them too to examine how an author dissects a traumatic event or events and brings the characters into those situations and how the characters progress. What always shocks me is seeing how other people react to these books. I suffered severe childhood trauma in various different ways. So reading these books is sometimes comforting, sometimes I read them with the intent to relate to a character, in the thoughts of the character towards an event that others might not have thought one would even experience. But watching some peoples reactions to books like A Little Life, and becoming nauseous or being in disbelief, I find it shocking. What are the experiences of people who read books who did not read it with intent to relate to the character. Why did you pick the book up? Im interested to see the other side of the coin. Does the emotional experiences of the characters resonate with you? Do you see any parallels within your our own life and the characters?

  • Otherwise_Ad233@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    People having different reactions and opinions about books does NOT necessarily mean it’s due to their own related experience or not.

    “If you didn’t like Book X, you must not understand experience Y” is an assumption about the reader rather than an argument about the book.

    • NihilisticBuddhism@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      This exactly. OPs post comes off a bit dismissive to other people’s experiences with trauma. Not everybody reacts the same way. I sometimes need to take long breaks when reading books like that. OP it doesn’t make you “strong” for not having an intense reaction, nor does it make others weak for having such reactions.

      • LordOfCastamerde@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        It comes off as a “not like the other girls” type of vibe, and I hope that isn’t the intent. I have experienced a very specific type of psychosis before almost dying a couple of times due to a medical condition. I actually had a seizure and vomited watching a TV show partly because it brought that trauma front and center. Just because I have a severe reaction to my PTSD does not mean I do not know what it’s like, or haven’t been through some serious shit.