Paula G. (Paulathegreat) reviewed on + 148 more book reviews
I know I am later on this book than most of the hype, but I tend to march to my own drum.
This story is about a woman who is kidnapped and held for 7 years as a sex slave. In this time she has a little boy. At the time of the story the boy, Jack, is 5 and she is trying to find a way to escape with him so that he can have a normal life.
The boys father is someone they call âOld Nickâ. He comes every so often, but the boy never witnesses what he does because his mother hides him in the closet on the nights Old Nick should come. Every Sunday he brings them a âSunday treatâ of something they ask for.
One of my main problems with this plot is that Nick is more a sugar daddy than a slave master. He can be bullied and coerced by the mother as in a normal relationship; rather than just slapping her and telling her to shut up which one would expect with a sex slave.
Judging from when this was written I would guess it had some inspiration in the Austrian cellar case.
Eventually, when they do get free Jack and Ma face a new set of obstacles. Will her family accept Jack or always see him as a symbol of the rape and degradation of their daughter? How will Jack cope with Ma having more people than just him? How will they both cope with press and publicity after so much isolation?
One thing that actively offended me was in the author's interview in the back of the book. Donoghue was asked about the way that Ma encouraged Jack to talk to âbaby Jesusâ. Donoghue's first response was that she had watered it down so âNo one was offended by it.â
This annoyed me as a Christian, but also as an artist. The point of literature is questioning assumptions, presenting reality, and examining ideas. All of which will offend someone!!! Anyway that statement annoyed me.
This story is about a woman who is kidnapped and held for 7 years as a sex slave. In this time she has a little boy. At the time of the story the boy, Jack, is 5 and she is trying to find a way to escape with him so that he can have a normal life.
The boys father is someone they call âOld Nickâ. He comes every so often, but the boy never witnesses what he does because his mother hides him in the closet on the nights Old Nick should come. Every Sunday he brings them a âSunday treatâ of something they ask for.
One of my main problems with this plot is that Nick is more a sugar daddy than a slave master. He can be bullied and coerced by the mother as in a normal relationship; rather than just slapping her and telling her to shut up which one would expect with a sex slave.
Judging from when this was written I would guess it had some inspiration in the Austrian cellar case.
Eventually, when they do get free Jack and Ma face a new set of obstacles. Will her family accept Jack or always see him as a symbol of the rape and degradation of their daughter? How will Jack cope with Ma having more people than just him? How will they both cope with press and publicity after so much isolation?
One thing that actively offended me was in the author's interview in the back of the book. Donoghue was asked about the way that Ma encouraged Jack to talk to âbaby Jesusâ. Donoghue's first response was that she had watered it down so âNo one was offended by it.â
This annoyed me as a Christian, but also as an artist. The point of literature is questioning assumptions, presenting reality, and examining ideas. All of which will offend someone!!! Anyway that statement annoyed me.
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