I have had my fair share of trauma in my life that I’m still trying to find ways to recover from, even in my 30s. It’s given me some pretty low lows, but I have to hold some kind of hope that I can push through to something better. I enjoy reading or experiencing narratives of people go through something similar, or just going through something bad in general. I also find it weirdly comforting.
I think A Little Life is well written and paced. The characters feel real and I can identify with most of the characters while not having gone through the same extent of abuse or trauma as some of them, just because of empathy.
My gripe with the book is the author’s perspective on trauma. She’s stated in interviews that she believes that for some people, life isn’t worth living and that it’s almost selfish to keep them alive. Having this kind of perspective makes the book’s trauma reinforce her thesis which I inherently disagree with. I’ve lost several close friends to suicide. It’s devastating. They were worth fighting for, and their lives were worth living. I can’t help but feel that A Little Life is projecting a horrific message about trauma, that it’s okay to end it if you believe that it’s not worth it, that your trauma is inescapable. A Little Life feels less like a character study on someone experiencing suicidal ideation and more about a character written doomed from the start, per the author’s intent. If not trauma porn, then it’s simply exploitive, or worse, suicide propaganda.
I have had my fair share of trauma in my life that I’m still trying to find ways to recover from, even in my 30s. It’s given me some pretty low lows, but I have to hold some kind of hope that I can push through to something better. I enjoy reading or experiencing narratives of people go through something similar, or just going through something bad in general. I also find it weirdly comforting.
I think A Little Life is well written and paced. The characters feel real and I can identify with most of the characters while not having gone through the same extent of abuse or trauma as some of them, just because of empathy.
My gripe with the book is the author’s perspective on trauma. She’s stated in interviews that she believes that for some people, life isn’t worth living and that it’s almost selfish to keep them alive. Having this kind of perspective makes the book’s trauma reinforce her thesis which I inherently disagree with. I’ve lost several close friends to suicide. It’s devastating. They were worth fighting for, and their lives were worth living. I can’t help but feel that A Little Life is projecting a horrific message about trauma, that it’s okay to end it if you believe that it’s not worth it, that your trauma is inescapable. A Little Life feels less like a character study on someone experiencing suicidal ideation and more about a character written doomed from the start, per the author’s intent. If not trauma porn, then it’s simply exploitive, or worse, suicide propaganda.