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Sto caricando le informazioni... The Childdi Sarah Schulman
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Shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award and the Ferro-Grumley Women's Fiction Award The Child is the eleventh and perhaps most controversial book by acclaimed lesbian writer Sarah Schulman, available for the first time in paperback. This novel explores the parameters of queer teen sexuality against a backdrop of hysteria and sanctioned homophobia. Stew is a fifteen-year-old boy who goes online looking for an older man to have sex with. But when his older boyfriend is arrested in an Internet pedophilia sting, his life is exposed to his family and town. Devastated by these revelations and left to fend for himself, he ends up committing murder. Brazen and daring in its themes, The Child is a powerful indictment of sex panic in America, and a plaintive meditation on isolation and desire. Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
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Google Books — Sto caricando le informazioni... GeneriSistema Decimale Melvil (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Classificazione LCVotoMedia:
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The officer convinces Stew to turn in David and Joe through deception. David and Joe are arrested, and because David has a prior conviction, he'll likely get a stiff sentence. The book also follows two attorneys, Hockey and Eva, and Eva's partner, Mary, a playwright who's had little success in NY's theater scene. Hockey is approached by a friend who wants him to represent David. Hockey brings in Eva to assist him.
I'm torn about how I feel about this book. The book is literary LGBT fiction wrapped up in a legal thriller wrapper. The problem is, I don't think it entirely works as either. For starters, most of the dialogue felt inauthentic. It reminded me, in fact, of a pastiche of A.M. Homes and her very weird, but very realistic dialogue. I'm not a fan of legal thrillers, but I've read a few, and this just didn't flow in the same way as legal thrillers I've read. In fact, the tempo felt off. (I can't really explain why. That's just the way I felt).
On the other hand, there was a lot about this book that I liked. The ambiguity of Stew's fate seemed natural, since the fate of any teenager (and gay teenagers in particular) is always ambiguous. I also appreciated that Schulman's treatment of David and Joe's actions was fairly objective. While the characters all seemed to have opinions about it, I didn't get a sense that the author's opinion was presented anywhere in the novel. Were David and Joe pedophiles? Legally, yes. Is growing up different for gay teens and straight teens? Absolutely. Does that make David and Joe's actions appropriate? No. Does it make their actions understandable? Possibly.
For me, though, the book fell apart at its most crucial scene. While I won't give the specifics away, it's fairly obvious that Stew is filled with rage, mostly directed towards his family. When that rage finally erupted, it erased any amount of empathy I had for Stew. I was extremely frustrated by a decision that Mary made late in the book, but I was even more frustrated by Eva's reaction to it. I don't expect tidy endings all wrapped up in a bow. I do expect that decisions characters make have a connection to their thoughts or behaviors earlier in the novel. I also expect characters to demonstrate some emotional depth. Schulman's tone was so objective, that her characters felt flat.
So how do I judge this book. I usually go by three criteria. Did I enjoy reading it, would I read it again, and would I recommend it to specific people. I did enjoy reading it, though I wouldn't read it again. There are too many great books out there to settle down with a mediocre one twice. As to recommending it: I couldn't think of a single friend that I thought would like this book.
This book gave me the impression that while Schulman is an adequate writer, she's neither a good writer nor a great one. But I'll read at least one more of her books to get a better impression of her talent. ( )