Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - La chanson d'Annie

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

La chanson d'Annie by Catherine Anderson

8 reviews

deaddolphins's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

1.75

Honestly, I went into this book with pretty high expectations, given its promising premise, but I walked away feeling underwhelmed. It wasn’t a complete disaster—there were some redeeming qualities—but the flaws were hard to ignore. The setup was undeniably charming, with the potential for a heartfelt, meaningful romance. However, the execution left a lot to be desired.

One of my biggest issues was with Alex's reaction to Annie. The way his thoughts were portrayed during Annie’s vulnerable moments, particularly when she was reacting to the trauma of her abuse, felt deeply inappropriate and overly romanticized. It’s hard to believe that anyone, let alone someone positioned as the hero of the story, would be so focused on her physical appearance in such a context. This not only disrupted the emotional authenticity of the scene but also felt insensitive, trivializing her trauma for the sake of forced romantic tension. It’s a misstep that made it difficult to fully invest in Alex as a character, despite his otherwise likable traits.

Then there’s Annie herself. While the narrative attempts to paint her as someone who’s been belittled and underestimated her whole life, her characterization veers too far into childishness. Rather than evoking sympathy, her behavior often felt immature to the point of discomfort, which undermined the romantic dynamic. Instead of rooting for their connection, I found myself questioning the appropriateness of it. The moments that were clearly intended to be quirky and endearing—like the egg subplot and the dollhouse—just came off as bizarre and unsettling. These elements detracted from the emotional depth the story was aiming for and instead added an odd, almost surreal layer that didn’t fit with the more serious undertones of Annie’s backstory.

That said, the book isn’t without its merits. Alex, despite the aforementioned issues, had his moments where he genuinely shined as a character. His kindness and patience in certain scenes did make him feel like solid “husband material,” and it’s clear the author was striving to create a safe, supportive partner for Annie (and we cheer that!) But even his good qualities couldn’t fully compensate for the larger narrative issues.

Ultimately, the book had a lot of potential, but the mishandling of sensitive topics, combined with inconsistent character development, left me disappointed. With a more thoughtful approach to the characters’ emotional journeys and a better balance between quirkiness and realism, this could have been a much stronger story.

Content Warnings

literaryhaylee's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Annie has been locked away from the world her entire life and this made hr really naive to her surroundings. So when she is out wandering the woods, like she normally does, she ends up getting attacked and raped. Because Annie is non-verbal, the town thinks she is stupid and the guy who attacked her feels no remorse over what he did.

So when the Hero, Alex, finds out his half brother is the one to blame, he is devastated and offers his assistance to Annie's family. Alex also wishes that her parents would contact the police, but they do not want to look bad for the town. (I literally hate them over this fr).

Four months after the attack, Annie's mother notices that her belly is expanding and it is confirmed that Annie got pregnant from her brutal attack. Not knowing what else to do, Annie's father goes to Alex, he offers to marry Annie and care for the baby as his own. Even though he is sadden about Annie's circumstances, it's a little light in his world, especially since he believes he is sterile.

Since Annie's parents don't want to look bad for the town, they agree to the marriage. They are married in a hush hush wedding and Annie is sent to live with Alex. (It also pisses me off that her parents never explained anything to Annie).

Alex was such a gentleman and really perfect for Annie. Through their time being together in the same house, Alex gets to learn Annie better. It's at this point when he realizes that Annie isn't stupid like the town and her parents made everyone believe, but that Annie is deaf. This actually PMO. Because what do you mean her parents never realized this?? Her parents also never got her new clothing, all she had was rags, but her sister had nice things... like are we serious??

Round of applause for Alex basically telling her parents to fuck off and then him doing his best to get Annie to come out of her shell. He helped her out of her shell through musical interments, because she could head higher pitched sounds. He also had ear pieces made for her so she could hear sound better. He learned sign language and taught it to her. Like he was actually perfect towards her.

Honestly, the 3 stars is because everyone else PMO in this book, but Annie and Alex.

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unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

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

4.75

This book is so tragic and traumatic and I could not put it down. My one *tiny* beef is that the MMC (Alex) BLESS HIM, was maybe a little less controlled in the bedroom than I would have liked. Given everything that happens to Annie in this book (PLEASE CHECK THE CW), it seemed a little out of character that this man simply could not stop at kissing and so would not kiss his wife. This is a very small complaint about an otherwise emotionally impactful and beautiful book. OMG CHECK THE CONTENT NOTES THOUGH PLEASE FOR THE LOVE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.

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emilyveryromance's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

The premise of this book is at once frustrating and beautiful. I don’t think this story will appeal to everyone, but I loved how patience and understanding were the cornerstones of the romance. Annie is wronged again and again, but once she is married, her husband helps her to heal and she is empowered to become so much more than any person’s ward.

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alisoun's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I think first of all we need to acknowledge this book is being read through two time lenses. First the lens of 1996 looking back to 1890 and secondly, me in 2023 reading a 1996 book about 1890. The ablelism and language used in this book is deeply disturbing, but also of it's time. It's also shamed within the text.

Please read trigger warnings prior to read this review.

Annie is a young woman who is considered "mad" by her parents. She is kept from view and basically kept as a child. She wear children's clothes and is allowed to free roam as long as she remains quiet. Her parents are both physically violent and abusive towards her. She has been discouraged (with violence) from making any noise.

In the first chapter Annie is raped by the Hero Alex's brother. This is told through the POV of a local boy who's knows Annie's family. We see the towns attitude towards her - she is "simple" and sweet but he also feels her family beating her is to be expected. The rape is not on page, but it's very tense leading up to it.

The hero Alex kicks his brother out (and wow his development with his brother is amazing imo, it's a huge point of contention as his love for Annie grows because he also raised his brother since he was 16 and blames himself for his father and step mother's death). Alex offers to marry Annie if she becomes pregnant.

Well of course she does! Alex believes himself sterile after mumps and wants a child to raise. He believes a nice or nephew is his best option. Annie's mother in particular wants Annie sent away. Annie's father wants her out of sight, out of mind (a bit of a motto of his) so he can continue a political career. Annie's maternal great uncle went "mad" and Annie's mother has a lot of fear that's what Annie is. This is also why Annie doesn't have any chance to try and prove she isn't.

Annie tells us as the reader, about 20% in, that she's Deaf. She knows she is and has no way to communicate it to anyone around her for fear of punishment.

This book is mostly told from the POV of Alex. He's a very Good Man who made bad choices in how he raised his little brother (mainly spoiled him). He's also brought down many pegs by his housekeeper when she says, adamantly, Annie is not "mad" and she can communicate. There is also the complications of Annie being kept ignorant by her parents. She has no idea how baby's are made. She has no idea how baby's are born. She didn't even know she was married until Alex tells her - all three of her sisters for new dresses and presents when they were married and she got none of it.

Eventually it's communicated that she will birth her baby and how and when it'll happen. The poor thing believes she will lay an egg as that's where she's seen most babies in the wild come from.

There's a scene when she comes across a really difficult breech horse birth Alex and his stable hands are working on and is just so horrified by what she sees she runs and hides in the attic and starts crying very loudly.

Alex finds her and when she sees him she keeps silent, but he knows she needs to cry. He gets the tool of her father's violence:

"Shaking with rage, Alex slapped the strop across the table’s surface. Then he fished his pocketknife from his trousers. With jerky movements, he unfolded the blade, and then he set upon the length of leather in a frenzy, hacking it into pieces, then hacking the pieces into pieces. “Scream!” he roared at her. “Scream, yell, cry! I don’t care, Annie! Do you understand me? I won’t punish you for making noise. I will never punish you. Never!”

it breaks my heart that she didn't even know her baby was born of the rape until after the baby is born and she wants to have sex again. Alex says we need to sort out contraception or you could become pregnant again and only then does she realise that sex makes babies.

Alex is convinced to send Annie and their new baby away to a school for the Deaf which just doesn't work lol. She tells him he isn't listening by drawing him a picture of him without ears! I like that they decide they will keep studying at home and go at a slower pace, but I am also saddened that I'm not sure Annie made Deaf friends. Maybe she did! I want her to be happy but also have a community she can call on and be a part of.

Now my critiques of the book:

I think some of the consent in the sex scenes wasn't great. This is especially important as Annie is a victim survivor of rape! Alex could have been a consent king and didn't quite meet the mark for me.

I also think her father was completely forgotten. Her mother had somewhat of a relationship arc with her daughter but her father is completely absent. Kind of wanted him to die of his health compliants tbh.

This book is good but heavy. Many emotions were felt! Overall I loved it!

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