If you could rewrite any book’s ending, which one would you choose?
I would love to change how A Little Life ends. As much as I love this book, I don’t like how the trauma and despair in Jude’s life ultimately win.
For me, these characters felt like real people. To have everything end in a massive tragedy still bothers me. It botheres me that Jude was not able to heal from his awful childhood; it bothers me that his abusive boyfriend was not held accountable for almost killing him; it botheres me that Jude was not able to keep Willem, Malcolm, or Sophie.
A Little Life is a novel where finding joy and peace would be the ultimate gift. He had amazing adoptive parents, friends, a partner, and a job he cared about. And yet, Jude was unable to free himself from the trauma and internalized self-loathing.
If anything, Jude deserves a happy ending. I’d have him overcome the issues of his childhood in therapy, eventually opening up to Harold and Julia (and accept their unwavering love and forgiveness).
All of the deaths that take place towards the end of the novel would never happen. Maybe the red Harlot blew a tire, or maybe JB was able to hang out with everyone after all–anything to prevent that car crash.
Willem and Jude would stay together. Their friend group would hang out, like they used to, but with the inclusion of JB and Malcolm’s significant others. Maybe Jude and Willem would get married. Maybe they would get a dog and name her Ana, after Jude’s caseworker. Maybe Malcolm and Sophie would have a child together. Jude would repair his damaged friendship with JB. He would continue to find the inner peace and love and joy that he lacked throughout the original novel.
Maybe he’d even learn how to enjoy physical intimacy with Willem.
Just because this novel’s staple is misery doesn’t mean it needed to be a tragedy. If Jude went on to defy the men who made his life hell by living the best life possible, that would have packed as much of an emotional punch as the original.
Thanks for reading my two cents!
The Nerdy Nook 