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A review by sammythearm
Into the River by Ted Dawe
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book glamorises child sex abuse. That’s not acceptable.
This book really let itself down. I am a bit angry about it.
After developing out complicated themes of family, identity, history, indigeneity, duty, it just gave it all up.
It had the kind of ending that Phillip K Dick would write where nothing is resolved in a satisfying way and all of the development feels wasted. In what would have been a masterpiece, similar to a Aotearoa version of The Secret History but it had none of Tartt’s genius.
And a big part of the ending going so wrong is the choice to make grooming and child sex abuse main plot points but never really addressing either of those things as being actually seriously wrong.
This book really let itself down. I am a bit angry about it.
After developing out complicated themes of family, identity, history, indigeneity, duty, it just gave it all up.
It had the kind of ending that Phillip K Dick would write where nothing is resolved in a satisfying way and all of the development feels wasted. In what would have been a masterpiece, similar to a Aotearoa version of The Secret History but it had none of Tartt’s genius.
And a big part of the ending going so wrong is the choice to make grooming and child sex abuse main plot points but never really addressing either of those things as being actually seriously wrong.