How do I even start this...How do I think clearly after what I just read...This book is relentlessly sad, and Hanya gives no shame in the way she wrote Jude as a character and it's quite incredible. She details both his past abuse and his present self-harm with explicit specificity, her diction so precise and piercing it made me shake, and at times, sob. A Little Life's most affective moments come not from its graphic depictions of violence, but from its quiet, uplifting portrayals of compassion. While the many abusive men in Jude's earlier life show us the depth of human atrocity, Jude's tender, bittersweet relationships with Willem, Harold, Andy, and others offer to us mankind's capacity for kindness. All of these complex characters make mistakes, and through their imperfections shines their humanness. Willem and Jude are my favorite characters and I could never forget about this book. It will stay with me, wholly.  I can honestly say this is one of the most gorgeously written books I've ever read. There are so many fantastic passages in this and I left markings and highlights on almost all of the 814 pages. This book is so depressing and it teaches you so much through such powerful words. I couldn't of endured it enough. I will love Jude and Willem, Harold and Andy forever & I will never lose the grasp of the memories I hold of each. PLEASE READ THE TW'S BEFORE PICKING THIS UP!!