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samsearle's review
emotional
sad
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, and Kidnapping
mapscitiesandsongs's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Rape
Moderate: Pregnancy
theteaisaddictive's review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
'Sealskin' is a retelling of the myth of the selkie -- seals who shed their skin to become human women, who dance in the moonlight. The blurb states that 'Donald witnesses something miraculous . . . and makes a terrible mistake [...] Can he ever atone for the wrong he has done, and can love grow when its foundation is violence?' Based on the word 'mistake', I assumed (based on the myth) that Donald would merely steal her skin. However, the person who wrote the blurb should clearly buy a dictionary, as a better descriptor of Donald's actions would be 'committed a horrific crime' -- because his 'mistake' is that he rapes the selkie less than ten pages into the novella. And if this year has taught us anything, it's that you don't 'accidentally' rape somebody.
Donald does not apologise to the selkie (later named Mairhi) for the rape until page 98, on their wedding night -- just under halfway through the book proper. It's clear that Bristow thinks he is atoning for the rape, but he does nothing of the kind. He apologised to the other selkies, but feels no guilt about raping Mairhi. He feels rather awkward around her, and uncomfortable that he has to marry her -- this is a period piece, folks, we gotta preserve the honour of our fallen women, but he feels neither ashamed nor apologetic. Donald goes through 'character development', becoming a better, stronger man -- and he has the gall to think that Mairhi's arrival into his life was a good thing. He mentions later that the sea 'gave' Mairhi to him. No, Donald, it didn't. Mairhi was dancing on the beach with her sister-selkies. You hid her skin. When she couldn't find it, you held her down and raped her, and brought her home. The sea didn't give you anything. You took it when it wasn't yours to take.
Additionally, Mairhi's presentation throughout he book is troubling, to say the least. She is frequently described as having the innocence of a child, doesn't speak a single word for the entire novel, and is presumed to be too 'simple' to understand the consequences of both Donald's and her own actions. If this had been a satire about how women are silenced while trying to speak out about their experiences, it would have been excellent. I sincerely doubt that Bristow intended this, however, as this is yet another book where a woman falls in love with her rapist. After Donald and Mairhi are married, she decides that sex with her rapist is totally cool, and a (presumably) consensually conceived child joins the one that Donald forced upon her.
The supporting characters were . . . fine, I guess. They were all complicit with rape culture, in some form or another, even during a subplot about a wife trying to leave her abusive husband -- and in a novella this out-of-touch on the subject of rape, this just added to the horror. There were also a scene where Donald's mother, a midwife, was able to confirm Mairhi's pregnancy half an hour after her rape. This is just ridiculous -- and this is coming from somebody who doesn't have a medical background at all.
The ending of this book is true to the myth, and is framed as tragically romantic. All I can say is -- Good for you, Mairhi.
If I could give this book 0 stars, I would. It only gets one because the prose is well-written.
Donald does not apologise to the selkie (later named Mairhi) for the rape until page 98, on their wedding night -- just under halfway through the book proper. It's clear that Bristow thinks he is atoning for the rape, but he does nothing of the kind. He apologised to the other selkies, but feels no guilt about raping Mairhi. He feels rather awkward around her, and uncomfortable that he has to marry her -- this is a period piece, folks, we gotta preserve the honour of our fallen women, but he feels neither ashamed nor apologetic. Donald goes through 'character development', becoming a better, stronger man -- and he has the gall to think that Mairhi's arrival into his life was a good thing. He mentions later that the sea 'gave' Mairhi to him. No, Donald, it didn't. Mairhi was dancing on the beach with her sister-selkies. You hid her skin. When she couldn't find it, you held her down and raped her, and brought her home. The sea didn't give you anything. You took it when it wasn't yours to take.
Additionally, Mairhi's presentation throughout he book is troubling, to say the least. She is frequently described as having the innocence of a child, doesn't speak a single word for the entire novel, and is presumed to be too 'simple' to understand the consequences of both Donald's and her own actions. If this had been a satire about how women are silenced while trying to speak out about their experiences, it would have been excellent. I sincerely doubt that Bristow intended this, however, as this is yet another book where a woman falls in love with her rapist. After Donald and Mairhi are married, she decides that sex with her rapist is totally cool, and a (presumably) consensually conceived child joins the one that Donald forced upon her.
The supporting characters were . . . fine, I guess. They were all complicit with rape culture, in some form or another, even during a subplot about a wife trying to leave her abusive husband -- and in a novella this out-of-touch on the subject of rape, this just added to the horror. There were also a scene where Donald's mother, a midwife, was able to confirm Mairhi's pregnancy half an hour after her rape. This is just ridiculous -- and this is coming from somebody who doesn't have a medical background at all.
The ending of this book is true to the myth, and is framed as tragically romantic. All I can say is -- Good for you, Mairhi.
If I could give this book 0 stars, I would. It only gets one because the prose is well-written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault
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