Autobiographical, A Boy Called It tells the first third of the life of Dave Plezer, survivor of the third worst documented case of child abuse in Californian history.
I'm not sure which disturbed me more - the stark portrayal of the systematic torture of this child at the hands of his mother (who has two other children who were not abused), the apathy of his father who allowed the abuse by doing nothing, that it is the third worst case documented therefore there are two worse cases reported, or the suspicion that there are far worse cases out there that go unreported.
I simply cannot believe this boy survived to tell the tale, let alone to grow into a seemingly well adjusted man with a son of his own. The second two books of the trilogy must surely be a testament to 'breaking the cycle'.
A Boy Called It is a very quick read - I would never use the phrase 'easy read' though. If you can stomach emotionally challenging material then I would highly recommend it.
I'm not sure which disturbed me more - the stark portrayal of the systematic torture of this child at the hands of his mother (who has two other children who were not abused), the apathy of his father who allowed the abuse by doing nothing, that it is the third worst case documented therefore there are two worse cases reported, or the suspicion that there are far worse cases out there that go unreported.
I simply cannot believe this boy survived to tell the tale, let alone to grow into a seemingly well adjusted man with a son of his own. The second two books of the trilogy must surely be a testament to 'breaking the cycle'.
A Boy Called It is a very quick read - I would never use the phrase 'easy read' though. If you can stomach emotionally challenging material then I would highly recommend it.
I don't think I could handle to cruelty at the hands of a mother Bex.
ReplyDeleteI won't lie, saying "it's not pleasant" is the understatement of the century. Tough to read.
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