"Limes," says Jude, looking up at him and shielding his eyes against the sun.

“Right, he says, and bends down, takes Jude's sunglasses off him, kisses him on his eyelids, and replaces his glasses. Summer, JB has always said, is Jude's season: his skin darkens and his hair lightens to almost the same shade, making his eyes turn an unnatural green, and Willem has to keep himself from touching him too much. "I'll be back in a little while."

A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara

The true “boys will be boys” is when all FOUR of you managed to forget your keys and phones and it’s freezing outside and the best solution you and your friends (Ivy League graduates, may I add) could come up with was launching yourself off the roof ledge to break into your own apartment

“And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him.”

When your card declines at therapy so they remind you how Jude knows for certain how true the axiom of equality is, because he himself––his very life––has proven it. The person I was will always be the person I am, he realizes. The context may have changed: he may be in this apartment, and he may have a job that he enjoys and that pays him well, and he may have parents and friends he loves. He may be respected; in court, he may even be feared. But fundamentally, he is the same person, a person who inspires disgust, a person meant to be hated.

i just love moments in books where a character forgets who they are and someone goes ahead and tells them little details about themselves in a straightforward manner, because they know the person in such a way that the words will flow as natural as breathing.

"You're a painter. You're a baker. You like to sleep with the windows open. You never take sugar in your tea. And you always double-knot your shoelaces."

― Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

"You’re a swimmer. You’re a baker. You’re a cook. You’re a reader. You have a beautiful voice, though you never sing anymore. You’re an excellent pianist. You’re an art collector. You write me lovely messages when I’m away. You’re patient. You’re generous. You’re the best listener I know. You’re the smartest person I know, in every way. You’re the bravest person I know, in every way... You were treated horribly. You came out on the other end. You were always you."

― Yanagihara, A Little Life

*spends time with friends* this is just like a little life!

*cooks a meal* this is just like a little life!

*hosts a house party* this is just like a little life!

*goes to college* this is just like a little life!

*has a trauma flashback* this is just like a li

“Who am I? Who am I?”

“You’re Jude St. Francis. You are my oldest, dearest friend. You’re the son of Harold Stein and Julia Altman. You’re the friend of Malcolm Irvine, of Jean-Baptiste Marion, of Richard Goldfarb, of Andy Contractor, of Lucien Voigt, of Citizen van Straaten, of Rhodes Arrowsmith, of Elijah Kozma, of Phaedra de los Santos, of the Henry Youngs. You’re a New Yorker. You live in SoHo. You volunteer for an arts organization; you volunteer for a food kitchen. You’re a swimmer. You’re a baker. You’re a cook. You’re a reader. You have a beautiful voice, though you never sing anymore. You’re an excellent pianist. You’re an art collector. You write me lovely messages when I’m away. You’re patient. You’re generous. You’re the best listener I know. You’re the smartest person I know, in every way. You’re the bravest person I know, in every way. You’re a lawyer. You’re the chair of the litigation department at Rosen Pritchard and Klein. You love your job; you work hard at it. You’re a mathematician. You’re a logician. You’ve tried to teach me, again and again. You were treated horribly. You came out on the other end. You were always you.” “And who are you?" "I'm Willem Ragnarsson. And I will never let you go.

A Little Life. Hanya Yanagihara

Peter Wever, 1950. Embrace painting

Every time the words I love you are said :

-Page 164

-Page 245

-Page 253

-Page 348

-Page 351

-Page 430

-Page 465

-Page 527

-Page 564

personally I think this segment is a prelude of the entire book and it hurts a lot more upon reread

i'm definitely totally normal about jude st. francis

“Pretend we're falling and we're clinging together from fear.” — Willem Ragnarsson

Jude when Philippa was talking about her future with Willem —being married with a bunch of kids— and all Willem added to the conversation was that Jude would move in with them too…

A Little Life: The Play girlies, talk to me about that sublime moment where Jude and Willem kiss for the first time, and Willem's arms floated just above Jude's shoulders, like he was too fragile to touch, and the music swelled and the lights were so bright, and just for that brief time, everything felt good and right and like relief

LUKE THOMPSON as Willem in ‘A Little Life’ Play [x]