A Little Life…A BIG Book!
When I told Anna & Tessa that I was going to start reading this book, Anna, who was already drowning in misery reading/listening to the book, tried to kindly warn me (save me) from starting (see posts below), but against her advice I decided to give it a go in any case. And I’m so glad I did, because I was swiftly added to a Book Club chat with Anna, Tessa & Jill’s fabulous Aunty Kaye, which has been so much fun.
Did I like this book? Honestly, no. But I DID enjoy reading the book. I’m not much of a book reader (unless it’s Harry Potter), so I thought it would be a challenge for me to get through such a long book, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought. Being part of the book club chat, and keeping tabs of where everyone was up to and their feelings towards the book so far (looking at you Anna 🤣), was great motivation to keep reading. There was a lot of undisclosed information around the main character for most of the book and this too had me keep reading for answers and hoping (in vain) for something positive to happen.
After finishing the book, I was left with mixed emotions as to whether I liked the book or not, and it stayed with me for days after. It’s a very controversial and thought provoking book, to say the least, so in that respect, it accomplished what any good book sets out to do, but overall I was not a fan, giving it a 3/10 rating.
Once we had all finished, it came time for our book club discussion of said book, which we did over a zoom meeting on the evening of 29th March. This was so much fun, meeting up with Kaye, Anna, Tessa and Tessa’s sister in law Sam (who had read the book a couple years prior and who I also found out went to High School with my brother - small world!). It was so interesting to hear the views and thoughts of all these intelligent ladies and also to discuss why we thought Jill loved and recommended the book. I still maintain that Jill didn’t like the book and it was a joke to recommend it, to make others endure the miserable content of the book that she had. Tessa later shared a letter she has from Jill regarding some books she had picked out for Tessa to read saying “Some of the books I chose because I thought you might like them, some because I knew you would dislike them”, so after reading that my theory could indeed have merit! But what I love most of all is how Jill is continuing to bring people together who may not necessarily of crossed paths otherwise. There was much discussion, copious amounts of laughs and a couple sad and reflective moments too, as we came together to discuss this book and Jill. We all enjoyed the book club so much that we are hoping to continue it, starting with another book Jill had recommended to Tessa, which coincidentally Kaye had just started. If that’s not a sign, I’m not sure what is ✨
For those who are still interested in reading the book, after my not so glowing review, be warned, it is not for the faint hearted. It was 720 pages (or depending on what edition you purchase over 800 pages) of confronting subject matter that, in my opinion, was sometimes over the top and unnecessary. Below are a list of potential triggers contained in the book:
Comments