Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I finished A Little Life in late January and can't stop thinking about it. It is the best book I have ever read about trauma and abuse and is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a brutal book, a deeply wrenching, beautiful book. It is a gentle book with not one false step in its characterization of a young man, Jude, trying to live fully, deeply, morally while haunted and debased by childhood sexual abuse. Sometimes I read in short spurts too disturbed to continue and too teary to see the page and at other times I read late into the night unable to tear myself away. At times I could barely breathe while reading and not just during the horrific descriptions of abuse but also while witnessing the love that Jude's friend and mentors and lover have for him. The author is brilliant at the getting the details right. Whether it is a description of a sumptuous meal, a day at the office, a fight between friends or an everyday conversation it is completely described. I love that A Little Life is so ordinary and extraordinary at the same time and not showy or flashy or manipulative which could easily happen given its themes. It is one of the hardest books I have ever read and it is one of the most humane. I thank Edelweiss for giving me this opportunity to read and review A Little Life.