Reading the Chunksters discussion

Post any thoughts on Part V here

Chapter 1

The story of the scar on the back of his hand-that had been the one that begun it-had been so terrible that Willem had stayed up that night, unable to sleep, and had seriously contemplated calling Harold, 'just to be able to have someone else share the story with him, to be speechless alongside him'.

Sums up exactly how I've felt so far reading "A Little Life..."

Although the makings for a Jude/Willem relationship have been evident for a while, I can't say I'm as jubilant as everybody else (in the novel) now that they've made their "togetherness" official in this chapter; in fact, I'm quite bored. It's a genuine love and admiration they have for one another, yet it almost seems as if fate (Yanagihara) has played too heavy a hand in the Jude/Willem love story... Or maybe I've completely taken on Jude's inability to feel and be embraced by true happiness and love, growing acclimated to the tragedy of the story instead?

Chapter 2

I'm ready to be done with this novel...I don't know if I need to step away from it for a little while, or forge through and finish it? It's too much, Jude has experienced too much, he's so far gone and embedded in his past that any glimpse of hope for him is just a tease. Yanagahira really knows how to pile on the tragedy with more tragedy where, instead of feeling a sense of relief from knowing Jude's history by now, it instead just keeps getting worse. I find myself completely exhausted by it all, and I feel hopeless for Jude.

Jude's graduated from the use of razors to using olive oil- match- fire; granted, it's only happened once so far, but it's really once too many, isn't it? You can't help but feel Willem's anger and helplessness towards Jude or even Andy's because he's gone to such severe lengths by giving himself a 3rd degree burn in this section. They are all on this hamster wheel together where, Jude is the only one spinning the wheel; everybody else is along for the ride and one by one, they are slowly being flung off of it. In the end, only Jude will remain while the rest sit and watch him pass out from exhaustion...Or worse, he dies. This masochistic behavior of Jude's looks comparable to somebody who abuses drugs, JB for example...They are both addicts. His cutting scenes read to me as if he is trying to get a fix, which he is basically. They sent JB to rehab, why can't they commit Jude...Commit him, already! I really fear for Jude at this point, 79% into the book, and I feel great sadness for Harold because I think he's on the verge of losing another son.

Chapter 3
What a hell of a roller coaster ride this section is. The minute I felt there was no hope for Jude, another tragic course of events follow (Jude's amputation), he ends up doing really well, everybody is genuinely happy, but Willem then takes a turn for the worse as he and a few of his friends are involved in a car crash on their way to meet Jude. If this book is meant to drive the reader completely mental, well, then it's done its job on me. Jude is doing so well, and now there's Willem, Mal and Sophie to worry about? There's so much sarcasm in this section as well with Jude's sense of humor and his way of making light of a dark situation, could it be "The Happy Years" title was really a joke...Surely the author wouldn't have been that cruel, or could she have? The moment Jude feels secure, loved and wanted by all in a healthy manner, his one steady, his rock, his very center, is in the midst of possibly being taken away from him. Life is so cruel...This book is cruel.

Ami I have been following your comments and will post more later but you are right this book IS SO CRUEL! What do you think Yanagihara's intent was in describing such cruelty in literally excruciating detail, and so relentlessly?

Dianne wrote: "Ami I have been following your comments and will post more later but you are right this book IS SO CRUEL! What do you think Yanagihara's intent was in describing such cruelty in literally excruciat..."

I read your comment and it made my blood boil only because you confirmed the "cruelty" of this novel...I was really hoping I would be wrong. LOL! I'm finishing it tonight, opting for the bandaid removal method...Ripping it off quickly. :P

Hmmm. I think it was to put the reader directly into the shoes of Jude, thus having a ricochet effect with the other characters. I literally felt Jude's anguish, his inability to articulate his past into words, his inability to trust...I found it very difficult at times to convey my thoughts because I was silenced by the weight of his experiences during the first sixteen years of his life. On that same taken, it was rather simple to feel the reverberations from being around Jude, and to see how difficult it was for his friends and family to watch him be abused by others and inflict pain on himself. Yes, Yanagihara did something very special when describing many of these unsavory scenes; she turned scenes which would normally be unbearable to read readable by giving us glimpses of those moments interspersed throughout the novel. Painful still even in its fragmented delivery, those moments didn't have any less of an impact on me...They were vile, abhorrent and maddening in nature. She could have been so much more gratuitous than she was...It could have been so much worse, I think. Had her delivery been relentless, meaning the cruelty described was conveyed in a more straight forward manner, I don't think the significance of the experiences that have shaped Jude into what he is would have had the same effect. It was easier, for me, to learn about and comprehend Jude's childhood in small fragments, as the different pieces of his past showed their heads in his present within the context of the narrative. See, giving us the information about Jude in small batches throughout the novel cements into the the reader that he/she should never forget what has happened to Jude or what kept happening...One tragic event followed by another, something new and worse in every chapter, or once every section, it continuously builds, thus preventing those moments from becoming an afterthought.

I agree. The novel is so amazingly cruel. I think part of the reason of how Jude's horrific experiences have been spaced throughout the novel is also because that's how he loves his life as well. The past is constantly with him in the present. It wouldn't make as much of an impact in chronological order because he would feel horror at the beginning and slowly move on. But for Jude these horrors are things that he continues to live with. They are inescapable and shape his very being.

I do want to see Jude committed as well but they have tried that and he just doesn't open up to the therapists at all. Think about how many years he spent with Willem before he was finally able to open up to Willem. I'm glad Willem got him to talk to a therapist but it didn't seem to have worked either. I think Jude will need to decide his life is worth living and that he wants to get better mentally before anything can change and unfortunately I don't see it happening any time.

When I saw the title for this section - "The Happy Years" I braced myself because if this is the happy years, then what were the next few chapters going to encompass??? And at the ending I saw my fears coming true. I hope Willem makes it through but his running towards Hemming seems like a hint that he won't. The irony that Willem might pass before Jude is gut wrenching because he was so healthy and strong but a reminder that human life is fleeting and we never know what is coming up. I have no idea how Jude will survive if Willem does not.

Catherine wrote: "I agree. The novel is so amazingly cruel. I think part of the reason of how Jude's horrific experiences have been spaced throughout the novel is also because that's how he loves his life as well. T..."

I do want to see Jude committed as well but they have tried that and he just doesn't open up to the therapists at all. Think about how many years he spent with Willem before he was finally able to open up to Willem.
you're right, they did, but as people who are integral in his life do you think they did enough prior to Andy's Plan...Was it so important to tip toe around his feelings from fear they would never see him again? I only ask because it seems in hindsight Harold and Willem have a lot of regret when it comes to Jude's health.

I think Jude will need to decide his life is worth living and that he wants to get better mentally before anything can change and unfortunately I don't see it happening any time.
Your'e right, he does need to realize this on his own, but he doesn't have the proper tools to even begin the process of self healing. You can move to a new surrounding, have a healthy support system in place, etc., but you can't run from your past like Jude is. He avoids dealing with his issues through distractions.

Ami wrote: "Chapter 1

The story of the scar on the back of his hand-that had been the one that begun it-had been so terrible that Willem had stayed up that night, unable to sleep, and had seriously contemplat..."

this is so interesting ami! hmmm, bored with their relationship. You know, I think to me it was more that I found it unbelievable. I guess maybe Willem looked at Jude as someone he could take care of like his brother, and Jude needed someone like that in his life.

Ami wrote: "Chapter 2

I'm ready to be done with this novel...I don't know if I need to step away from it for a little while, or forge through and finish it? It's too much, Jude has experienced too much, he's ..."


commit him already! exactly. not that cutting is ok by any stretch, but the burn with olive oil really seemed to demonstrate that his mental state had seriously deteriorated. rather than cutting to feel pain, to in theory relieve his mental anguish, here was trying to actually start destroying himself. It's so so sad that no one did. BUT on the other hand, how would Jude have responded?? Would this have helped him? I think he would have felt betrayed, certainly. I hope it would have helped him, but I'm not so sure. He didn't even seem willing to listen to any therapist, at all, ever.

Ami wrote: "Chapter 3
What a hell of a roller coaster ride this section is. The minute I felt there was no hope for Jude, another tragic course of events follow (Jude's amputation), he ends up doing really wel..."

this was one of the two parts of the book where I cried. it was so awful. so unfair. as you say, just when he was finally able to accept some modicum of happiness!

Ami wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Ami I have been following your comments and will post more later but you are right this book IS SO CRUEL! What do you think Yanagihara's intent was in describing such cruelty in lite..."

100% agree. The slow revelations, the tiny torturous moments, it all webbed together to make the overall delivery so much more powerful.

Ami wrote: "Catherine wrote: "I agree. The novel is so amazingly cruel. I think part of the reason of how Jude's horrific experiences have been spaced throughout the novel is also because that's how he loves h..."

I think the friends absolutely tiptoe because they think Jude will drop them... and I think he would have.

I think your comment about how Jude had no tools to cope was spot on. That really was the entire gist of the book, that despite all that he did have in his little life, he was never able to make it more, because he was crippled, physically of course but in every other way as well.

Dianne wrote: "Ami wrote: "Chapter 1

The story of the scar on the back of his hand-that had been the one that begun it-had been so terrible that Willem had stayed up that night, unable to sleep, and had seriousl..."

this is so interesting ami! hmmm, bored with their relationship. You know, I think to me it was more that I found it unbelievable.
Well, their impending relationship was so built up...Willem and Jude. After reading about Jude's history, the cutting, Caleb, to then introduce them as a couple...I was over it by the time their union was made obvious in the novel.

commit him already! exactly.
I'm getting all worked up all over again! LOL! Yes, bloody commit him already, Dianne! Jude's cutting is one thing, but the violent and deep slashes on his arm that bought him a ticket to the ER, maybe even the burning, doctors would consider it a "loud" cry for help. It's no longer a situation where Jude deserves his privacy or his space to deal with his demons as he has been. It is crystal clear, his way is no longer working for him...Not that it ever did.

I think your comment about how Jude had no tools to cope was spot on.
I also believe he was enabled...Nobody really stepped in as a force to be reckoned with helping Jude pursue a healthier manner to release his pain and stress.

Ami wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Ami wrote: "Chapter 1

The story of the scar on the back of his hand-that had been the one that begun it-had been so terrible that Willem had stayed up that night, unable to sleep, a..."

it's so sad, I think the counselor in his youth (was her name ana? I forget) COULD have become the person who enabled Jude to open up, but even she knew on her deathbed that she had failed him, she knew that this would haunt him in the future, his inability to open up... I wonder if anyone, even a counselor, could have reached him as an adult. I'd like to think so, if he was forced to via a commitment. In his regular life, dealing with people that were not mental health professionals, everyone was too afraid to confront Jude, really confront him in a way to get him to change.

Dianne wrote: "Ami wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Ami wrote: "Chapter 1

The story of the scar on the back of his hand-that had been the one that begun it-had been so terrible that Willem had stayed up that night, unable..."

Me too, I would like to think he could be "somewhat" rehabilitated...But who knows. I'd like to read a non-fiction book along in the same vein as "A Little Life."

Ami wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Ami wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Ami wrote: "Chapter 1

The story of the scar on the back of his hand-that had been the one that begun it-had been so terrible that Willem had stayed up tha..."

if you find one, let me know and I'll read it with you. We may need to bust out the tissues and red wine to get through.

This was SUCH an emotional roller coaster. I was furious with EVERYONE in the first half of this section. Commit him, commit him, F-ING COMMIT HIM!!! What is WRONG with these people? What if Andy had given Jude that ultimatum years ago? Maybe it might have made a difference? But no, everyone trots around Jude in fear, enabling and enabling.... gah!

And then FINALLY we get a breakthrough when he tells Willem. And Willem FINALLY starts talking to a counselor about it himself (why on earth does no one get the idea earlier on to go to a counselor themselves to ASK how they should handle Jude?) While he feels he doesn't make progress in that area, at least he tries and makes Jude try for awhile also. It's the most positive direction they've all gone the entire book.

I'm sorry, but the car crash was a bit over the top by this point. It's like she's taken every cliche and horrible story she's ever imagined and crammed it into one book. Yes, very ready to be done with this one. Yes, there are some good things in this and it will stay with me for awhile... but my goodness, it's exhausting to read! Sounds like I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Alana wrote: "This was SUCH an emotional roller coaster. I was furious with EVERYONE in the first half of this section. Commit him, commit him, F-ING COMMIT HIM!!! What is WRONG with these people? What if Andy h..."

I just came over to read your comments, feeling pressure in chest already, running this section through my mind. I do remember, by the time I read the car scene, I was so engrossed in Jude and his life, I was beyond what was believable and what was not. You make a great point however..."Too over the top" considering he's been through the wringer X infinity. But isn't it a reality for many, Alana? I agree with you it can be considered over the top, but for me, it's because I can't wrap my head around so much travesty...Yet, it happens everyday. Coming back to this book, even after so much time has passed...Now, I feel anger; whereas, before, I was just tired.

True, I guess I'm reading it in a year's time, but for Jude, it has been about a decade that he's been in a relationship with William, so it's not like it's right after all the other stuff. And yes, sometimes that many things do happen to one person (Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption for example?) but it just seems so unreal! Mostly I'm just exhausted for him and ready for the story to be over.

I'm ready to finished the last section and I don't know whether to hope for an ultimate "happy" ending for Jude, or to even know what "happy" looks like for him.

Alana wrote: "True, I guess I'm reading it in a year's time, but for Jude, it has been about a decade that he's been in a relationship with William, so it's not like it's right after all the other stuff. And yes..."

See, I'm apprehensive about reading "Unbroken.." for that very reason!

As for the last part... Not saying anything. I can't wait to read how it pans out for you!

Unbroken is in my top ten favorite books I've ever read, it's WONDERFUL! Read it, you won't regret it!