Darling, Rachel Edwards
If I had read the blurbs on the back of this book before starting to read it, I would probably not have read it, to be honest! One of them compares Darling to We Need to Talk about Kevin, which was a traumatic read (I think I am understating things) to say the least. You can read my first impression of that book here. Anyways, this book ended up not being nearly as traumatic as Kevin (phew!) and was basically about a woman who falls in love and marries a man and they form a blended family. She has a 5-year-old son who has a degenerative muscle disease, and he has a 16-year-old daughter with bulimia and trauma regarding her own mother’s death. Lovely combination. Right from page one readers are informed that either the daughter or the protagonist is now dead, with the purpose of trying to make this book a thriller, or at the very least a page turner, but in my opinion it falls flat. The writing itself is simplistic, but it does have some interesting plot twists that keep the narrative exciting.
The Rape of Sita, Lindsey Collen
Here’s another book that on first glance alone, I would not have read, mainly because of the title, which is talked about quite a bit in the afterword. Collen, originally from South Africa, has lived in Mauritius for decades and this is where The Rape of Sita is set. Mainly because of its title, and back cover according to the former prime minister, this book was almost immediately banned from stores and shelves in Mauritius. Its controversial theme, rape, made it a cause for controversy, but it does bring up interesting and worthwhile conversations regarding rape, namely, who can tell the story of a rape? because the narrator is indeed male, and he tries to ingrain himself with women to the greatest extent possible, but for most readers, including me, this was simply not enough; who should tell the story of a rape if the aim is credibility? because while it is unfortunate, men tend to believe other men; and, is it possible for the victim to do anything to avoid being in a situation where rape could happen? the short answer, is, of course, no—only the rapist can decide to not rape someone in the end. Any other answer is victim blaming. Although a lot of headway has been made in recent years regarding rape, sexual assault, and victim blaming, it was still refreshing to read a book that didn’t dance around the topic or use clouded language to talk about something that, statistically speaking, happens to an excessively large part of the world’s population.