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A review by jadziadax
How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity by Michael Cart
3.0
I desperately wanted to love this, as pansexual girl. And I did love some of the stories! Actually, most were really, really good. I especially loved 'Trev'.
The reason it's getting a 2 star rating is because of the story "A Dark Red Love Knot" by Margo Lanagan.".
(trigger warning for rape, abuse, and spoilers forthcoming)
In it, the MC has very clearly, in my eyes, been raped, yet he longs for the solider that did it, referring to him as 'my darling'. Trauma can result in these thoughts, yes. But the author did not make it clear enough, explicitly that it was rape and it was bad and horrible. I could compare this to the story 'Fingernail' where the narrator is not raped, but abused, and the story makes it clear it was abused and the narrator realizes this.
One review, by Barbara L. Talcroft, says that "Some teens will find themselves reflected in the stories; others will construct what meanings they can. It might be well to make clear to young readers that just as understanding and recognition of diverse sexual identities is desirable; rape, exploitation, and brutal sexual violence can never be tolerated or condoned as ordinary."
There lies my problem; in my opinion, "A Dark Red Knot" did not make that clear to young readers. As someone who is very near twenty and has a good understanding of rape culture, I got that it was rape and I knew it was wrong. I worry that not every reader would pick up on it and might think it was romantic, something to like, like the narrator did.
Maybe I read it wrong, it just felt that way to me. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. I do hope I read it wrong and that to others it seemed to making a clear show of the fact it was rape and it was awful.
The reason it's getting a 2 star rating is because of the story "A Dark Red Love Knot" by Margo Lanagan.".
(trigger warning for rape, abuse, and spoilers forthcoming)
In it, the MC has very clearly, in my eyes, been raped, yet he longs for the solider that did it, referring to him as 'my darling'. Trauma can result in these thoughts, yes. But the author did not make it clear enough, explicitly that it was rape and it was bad and horrible. I could compare this to the story 'Fingernail' where the narrator is not raped, but abused, and the story makes it clear it was abused and the narrator realizes this.
One review, by Barbara L. Talcroft, says that "Some teens will find themselves reflected in the stories; others will construct what meanings they can. It might be well to make clear to young readers that just as understanding and recognition of diverse sexual identities is desirable; rape, exploitation, and brutal sexual violence can never be tolerated or condoned as ordinary."
There lies my problem; in my opinion, "A Dark Red Knot" did not make that clear to young readers. As someone who is very near twenty and has a good understanding of rape culture, I got that it was rape and I knew it was wrong. I worry that not every reader would pick up on it and might think it was romantic, something to like, like the narrator did.
Maybe I read it wrong, it just felt that way to me. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. I do hope I read it wrong and that to others it seemed to making a clear show of the fact it was rape and it was awful.