Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Daddy Love by Joyce Carol Oates

3 reviews

another_dahlia's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Vomit

secre's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Daddy Love is an undeniably creepy and horrifying novel focussing in on every parents worst nightmare; their child being kidnapped by a predator. Joyce Carol Oates is well known for covering some taboo and horrifying topics in her novels, and this is no exception. It absolutely isn't going to be a book for everyone; it covers physical, sexual, emotional and verbal abuse. It explores how the victim of the abuse can become so inured to it, that they don't dare speak of it to others. It ticks down like a time bomb to the age when the kidnapped child grows too old for Daddy Love.

The opening chapters repeat the initial abduction in various ways and the initial focus is on the mother; her injuries, her terror, her desire to be re-united with her child. From there the focus shifts to her son. Once Robbie, now re-named Gideon by Daddy Love. Oates presents the abuses on display matter of factly, and I absolutely have to give credit for how she doesn't linger on them like torture porn. The reader is very aware of the abuses at hand, yet Oates never lingers, never plays it up. It happens and more time is spent on Gideon's responses to this, how he grows and reacts outside of Daddy Loves abuse.

I would have liked to see more of Dinah and her husband in their search for their missing child. For much of the novel, they are completely side-lined and I think it would have both been more powerful and been able to cut through some of the misery of the abuse if they had interlude chapters more frequently. It would have been possible to slot them in as Oates moves the years on. And yes, it would have undoubtedly been miserable in a different way, but it would have meant that both sides of the tale were evenly handled. Whereas as it stands, the parents get forgotten about other than at the beginning and end of the novel.

All in all, bleak, depressing and frankly horrifying. It felt like there was something missing, which could perhaps have been more of a spotlight on the parents as well as on Daddy Love and his latest child. It's not going to be a book for everyone, but that could be said for many of Oates novels. Take it at your own risk, as there trigger factors all over this novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Kidnapping

owlribbon's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment