Rape: A Love Story
Publication date: November 30th, 2004
154 pgs. (Hardcover)
"Childhood was over and yet: as long as your mother could not remember what had happened to her you could behave in the old way of before."
Teena Maguire is thirty-six, a widow and mother. Her daughter, Bethie Maguire, is twelve. On July 5th, 1996, just after midnight, Teena and Bethie are walking home through Rocky Point Park in the small town of Niagara Falls. On this night, July 5th, everything changes. Teena is gang-raped, beaten and left for dead in a boathouse by the lagoon. Bethie is beaten as well, though she escapes the same fate as her mother by slipping out of her attacker's grasp and hiding.
That is how the book begins, with Teena Maguire slowly bleeding to death on the floor of the boathouse, her beaten and bruised daughter pleading with her not to die. This is where John Dromoor comes on the scene. Dromoor is a policeman who arrives on the scene and is one of the first people to see Teena after the assault, to see Bethie, covered in blood and crying for help.
My first thought when I saw the title for this book was "Does she fall in love with her rapist? How can rape be a love story?" What I discovered is that love was a metaphor for the feelings police officers can have when they resonate with a case. Love is the feeling a small child has for someone she views as her mother's champion and protector, not just romantic love. It was a very powerful book and nearly brought me to tears at the injustice of the judicial system.
Main Characters: Teena Maguire, Bethie Maguire and John Dromoor.
The main theme of this book is the rape of Teena Maguire, how it affects everyone around her and how it especially affects Bethie. It is how justice often turns on those who need it most and sets those free who do not deserve freedom. It was a very powerful book. Even though it was small, what a punch!
A few things I found interesting about this book:
- Through out the book, the author points out that she shouldn't have taken the way she did, she should have stayed at her boyfriend's, she shouldn't have dressed as she did. In essence Joyce Carol Oates plays devil's advocate, playing the "she had it coming" card as well as the "it wasn't her fault" card. What's interesting about this is that, if you follow Joyce Carol Oates on Twitter (like I do), then you would know that her taking the "devil's advocate" approach was on purpose as a condemnation of that behaviour and not as a true "devil's advocate."
- Ms. Oates shows the justice system for what it is: A lax system of corruption dictated by those in power's belief that somehow women (be they cis, trans, binary, nonbinary, femme or butch) are responsible for the actions of men.
- Some of the book is written in such a way that it is talking to Bethie, but is still omniscient. Almost like Older Bethie is writing a letter to herself about the incidents following her mother's rape.
I stumbled across this book while looking through a post about disturbing books. I was on a website with a list individual users had put together of books they had found disturbing. As I was browsing titles I noticed "Rape: A Love Story". I checked to see whether or not my local library had it and they did. The rest is, as they say, history.
I spent most of this book trying not to bawl my eyes out. Which was difficult because I was at a play rehearsal, where I have to be emotional in the first place. But, 2 1/2 hours later I was blown away by the sheer raw power of the book. It takes a lot to impress me, but this book did so flawlessly.
I would rate this book a 10 for being brilliantly rendered in such a short and poignant volume.
This book is rated X for adult language, adult situations, graphic violence and graphic images.
This book is inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18, people who are easily offended by foul language, people easily upset by disturbing topics, people who think that it is the rape victims fault in a rape case and lawyers.
If you are not any of the above I suggest you read this book and stand up for those who can't stand up themselves.
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