A Little Life

The first section in Chapter 2 focuses on JB as he takes the train to his art studio, as he does frequently. He is a painter, and although he struggled for many years to find his artistic voice, he has recently taken to photographing his friends in candid moments and recreating the paintings in photographs.

The second section focuses on Willem, who works as a waiter but is trying to become an actor. His Swedish mother and Danish father lost two children before they left Europe and moved to Wyoming to become ranch hands. The first died from leukemia, and the second died mysteriously in his sleep. Their third, Hemming, has cerebral palsy. Willem loves his older brother Hemming deeply; he often feels like he alone loves him while his parents consider Hemming merely a responsibility. When Willem goes to college, Hemming’s health deteriorates rapidly; he goes on life support briefly and dies soon after. Both of his parents die the following year, his father of a heart attack and his mother of a stroke. Though Willem never felt close to them, particularly after Hemming’s death, he still mourns their passing and believes they taught him many valuable things.