Tears of Joy

Source: Dreamstime | http://www.dreamstime.com

I sat at a traffic light this afternoon crying because Hanya Yanagihara had just done something so amazing for Jude St. Francis – something so deserving, so perfect – that it brought tears not only to my eyes, but down my cheeks.

I am a reader.  I’d like to say “avid” reader but…life.  Fellow readers know the enjoyment one experiences when a book makes you truly care about what is going to happen when you flip the page.  How words on a page can cause you to feel rage, anger, sadness, desperation, indifference, happiness, triumph, love – toward people who may or may not exist!  Yes, Hanya Yanagihara is an author, Jude St. Francis one of the protagonists in her fictional book – A Little Life – and yes, I was crying because of a book!Up to this point, I had been slightly annoyed at Ms. Yanagihara. This book is HUGE (32 hours on my audiobook), and she is taking a minute (several minutes – lol) to get where she’s going.  I was starting to get distracted.  J But the crumbs she’s laid so far have me hoping that the destination will be worth the journey.

I am only about five hours in.  So I know this moment of happiness and pleasure for Jude will have to be eclipsed by some tragedy or other depressing life event.  At the end, books can leave you satisfyingly fulfilled or cruelly disappointed.  The high of that satisfying fulfillment though, keeps me coming back.

Happy reading!