Glad I’m not alone. I feel like if I say that to a lot of people I’m told I’m weird/like child trauma porn/that it’s morally wrong to appreciate the book at all. I just think these extreme reactions are so toxic and antithetical to what I see as the benefits of reading.

I defs think there’s a worthwhile conversation to have about a little life and trauma porn etc but I agree that I struggle with the WAY people express this and react to it. It feels a bit dehumanising to insists that what Jude goes through is IMPOSSIBLY awful. He was a very vulnerable kid and people in those positions are more likely to be repeatedly abused. As are disabled people. Also, it’s a total fable but that’s beside the point. People will read A Little Life and basically insist it’s impossibly traumatic and then wonder why people don’t share their own stories of abuse more.