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Coldheart Canyon
Coldheart Canyon
Clive Barker | 2018 | Erotica, Horror
2
7.0 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
I could not finish this book. I hated everyone except the dog. I found the casual talk of rape and pedophilia disgusting. Even the consensual sex acts often started with the protagonist peeping on an unknowing female lead. I understand that it is horror but it wasn't scary to me. There was no suspense, no chills, no one I wanted to remain unscathed from the mysteries of the canyon.
  
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Daniel Blumberg recommended Naked (1993) in Movies (curated)

 
Naked (1993)
Naked (1993)
1993 | Drama
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Naked directed by Mike Leigh. Apart from the rape at the start, I love the main character so much. I never really pay attention to actors but this must be one of the greatest performances ever. I’ve really enjoyed watching Mike Leigh films this year. They’re very British and I’ve been away from home so long that it feels a bit like going home when I watch them."

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All the Rage
All the Rage
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Trigger Warning: Rape and Recovery
Contains spoilers, click to show
Wow. I finished this book, sat back, and stared at it in silence for a while. This is an emotional wringer of a book that more people should read. It's also full of trauma triggers, so beware.

Trigger Warning. Rape and Recovery.

All The Rage is about a girl. It's about rape culture. It's about her trauma, and the aftermath. The book flashes back and forth a little - it includes a triggered flashback to her rape, and her memories of it. The font choices show how mixed up she is sometimes, and how hard it is for her to tell what's really happening, what is a memory, and what is a flashback. Her rape is never written about in high detail. One Goodreads reviewer made a good point - the details being scant makes the shadows larger for the devil to hide in. (Her review is is posted in full on her blog, and it's a powerful one.) (links can be found on my blog as they can't be embedded here.)

The book was an easy read, technically - I read it in an afternoon - but it was a very hard read, emotionally and mentally. The main character, Romy, talks about how no one prepares girls for this, and she's right. As a society, we don't. We tell girls how to avoid those kinds of situations, but not what to do when actually IN them. Or how to determine the best course of action. Because surviving an attack is usually the priority, and screaming and fighting isn't always the best way to do that. Romy froze, and she blames herself for the failure to fight. But she also blames society for not teaching girls what to do. And once the unthinkable has happened, society abandons the victims. That was one of the hardest parts of the book - the victim-blaming. No one believes Romy. They call her a slut and a liar. Her high school classmates do horrible things to her.

The book is dark, but there are points of light. Leon is a coworker at the diner, and he's sweet on Romy. The book uses the relationship to show how rape can affect any future intimacy. Romy can't trust him, because her rapist seemed sweet, too. Until he wasn't. Romy's mother and mother's boyfriend are both supportive, caring, and loving. They don't understand what she's going through, mostly because Romy won't tell them, but they do their best anyway.

All The Rage is a really good book. It's also a very important book, and personally I think it should be required reading in high school. (That will never happen, it's too graphic and would offend parents, I'm sure. But it should.) If it's something you've experienced personally, it's very triggery and should maybe be avoided. But if it isn't? Read this book. You need to know.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com