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reclusivebookslug's review against another edition
I cannot overstate how uncomfortable and angry this book made me. Really, I should have investigated more before starting it. Considering the subject matter involved (sexual assault and intellectual disability), I would not have even attempted it had I known it was originally published in 1996 (all I saw was that the eaudio I was listening to was published in 2020). I've since heard this book described as a "product of its time" and similar sentiment, which gives an idea about how such subjects are handled. TLDR; don't read this book if you have the slightest qualms about abusing, infantilizing, or stigmatizing people with intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses.
Annie is utterly infantilized, treated as a small child due to her perceived disability, even as a grown woman. She has no autonomy or independence, to the point where she is not even permitted to bathe herself. I presume that she was not given the same education she would have had if she were not perceived as disabled. What is absolutely clear is that she was not given the knowledge or tools to protect herself; she does not know the concept of sex or rape or reproduction or how to differentiate bullying from serious threats of violence.
Her parents abuse her, although it would not have been described as such in the historical context presented. She is subject to severe corporal punishment for minor infractions. She is also fearful of punishment for behavior that should not be punished, such as attempting speech and crying when in distress. Her family makes no secret of the fact that they are ashamed of her; she is hidden away from visitors, is never permitted to go into town, and relatives avoid visiting to distance themselves from an association with her. Similarly,when she is raped, her parents main concern is their reputation and how this might affect her father's political aspirations. Everyone in their town is cruel to her, from minor teasing to throwing rocks to eventually rape, and I can't help but believe her parents are complicit in everyone's horrible treatment of her. She would not evenly be labeled as slow-witted if they had not been blind to the truth that she was deaf and so obstinate as to reject any attempts for her to communicate her true condition.
Other characters view her parents treatment of her as just and even commendable. There is something particularly infuriating about abuse perceived as normal or accepted, and I would say this is true of both the characters and the author. I expect that later in the book some if not all of her parents treatment towards her would be seen as either harmful or misguided when it is revealed that she's reallyjust deaf , but I see no hope that the thought of someone treating a woman with real intellectual disabilities the way they treated Annie would be demonized as it ought to be.
The love interest and presumably the author are also clearly anti-abortion.When it is discovered that she's fallen pregnant with his brother's child as a result of the rape, her father says he would have had her undergo an abortion (presumably without Annie's knowledge or consent, which is appalling) if he had known at an earlier stage of the pregnancy. Alex thinks that this would have been completely unacceptable on the grounds of some vague notion of the sanctity of life and because of his own personal connection to the unborn child, which he feels responsible for. But when he finds out that "madness" runs in the family and so the child had some chance of inheriting a mental illness or cognitive disability (as per the period, it's all quite vague) both Alex and Annie's father agree that the only solution is to put the child in an orphanage and ensure that the child is never adopted out. The cruelty of this is astounding and the implication that a disabled or mentally ill child is an evil that no one should have the misfortune to have to raise, but that a woman carrying this child (as a result of rape, and is to his knowledge incapable of understanding what's going on or for caring for the child) should not be permitted to terminate this pregnancy, is terrible beyond words.
Annie is utterly infantilized, treated as a small child due to her perceived disability, even as a grown woman. She has no autonomy or independence, to the point where she is not even permitted to bathe herself. I presume that she was not given the same education she would have had if she were not perceived as disabled. What is absolutely clear is that she was not given the knowledge or tools to protect herself; she does not know the concept of sex or rape or reproduction or how to differentiate bullying from serious threats of violence.
Her parents abuse her, although it would not have been described as such in the historical context presented. She is subject to severe corporal punishment for minor infractions. She is also fearful of punishment for behavior that should not be punished, such as attempting speech and crying when in distress. Her family makes no secret of the fact that they are ashamed of her; she is hidden away from visitors, is never permitted to go into town, and relatives avoid visiting to distance themselves from an association with her. Similarly,
Other characters view her parents treatment of her as just and even commendable. There is something particularly infuriating about abuse perceived as normal or accepted, and I would say this is true of both the characters and the author. I expect that later in the book some if not all of her parents treatment towards her would be seen as either harmful or misguided when it is revealed that she's really
The love interest and presumably the author are also clearly anti-abortion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape
Some of these warnings relate to things that the narrative fails to present as wrong or harmful.junna's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Death of parent