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reclusivebookslug's review against another edition
I cannot overstate how uncomfortable and angry this book made me. Really, I should have investigated more before starting it. Considering the subject matter involved (sexual assault and intellectual disability), I would not have even attempted it had I known it was originally published in 1996 (all I saw was that the eaudio I was listening to was published in 2020). I've since heard this book described as a "product of its time" and similar sentiment, which gives an idea about how such subjects are handled. TLDR; don't read this book if you have the slightest qualms about abusing, infantilizing, or stigmatizing people with intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses.
Annie is utterly infantilized, treated as a small child due to her perceived disability, even as a grown woman. She has no autonomy or independence, to the point where she is not even permitted to bathe herself. I presume that she was not given the same education she would have had if she were not perceived as disabled. What is absolutely clear is that she was not given the knowledge or tools to protect herself; she does not know the concept of sex or rape or reproduction or how to differentiate bullying from serious threats of violence.
Her parents abuse her, although it would not have been described as such in the historical context presented. She is subject to severe corporal punishment for minor infractions. She is also fearful of punishment for behavior that should not be punished, such as attempting speech and crying when in distress. Her family makes no secret of the fact that they are ashamed of her; she is hidden away from visitors, is never permitted to go into town, and relatives avoid visiting to distance themselves from an association with her. Similarly,when she is raped, her parents main concern is their reputation and how this might affect her father's political aspirations. Everyone in their town is cruel to her, from minor teasing to throwing rocks to eventually rape, and I can't help but believe her parents are complicit in everyone's horrible treatment of her. She would not evenly be labeled as slow-witted if they had not been blind to the truth that she was deaf and so obstinate as to reject any attempts for her to communicate her true condition.
Other characters view her parents treatment of her as just and even commendable. There is something particularly infuriating about abuse perceived as normal or accepted, and I would say this is true of both the characters and the author. I expect that later in the book some if not all of her parents treatment towards her would be seen as either harmful or misguided when it is revealed that she's reallyjust deaf , but I see no hope that the thought of someone treating a woman with real intellectual disabilities the way they treated Annie would be demonized as it ought to be.
The love interest and presumably the author are also clearly anti-abortion.When it is discovered that she's fallen pregnant with his brother's child as a result of the rape, her father says he would have had her undergo an abortion (presumably without Annie's knowledge or consent, which is appalling) if he had known at an earlier stage of the pregnancy. Alex thinks that this would have been completely unacceptable on the grounds of some vague notion of the sanctity of life and because of his own personal connection to the unborn child, which he feels responsible for. But when he finds out that "madness" runs in the family and so the child had some chance of inheriting a mental illness or cognitive disability (as per the period, it's all quite vague) both Alex and Annie's father agree that the only solution is to put the child in an orphanage and ensure that the child is never adopted out. The cruelty of this is astounding and the implication that a disabled or mentally ill child is an evil that no one should have the misfortune to have to raise, but that a woman carrying this child (as a result of rape, and is to his knowledge incapable of understanding what's going on or for caring for the child) should not be permitted to terminate this pregnancy, is terrible beyond words.
Annie is utterly infantilized, treated as a small child due to her perceived disability, even as a grown woman. She has no autonomy or independence, to the point where she is not even permitted to bathe herself. I presume that she was not given the same education she would have had if she were not perceived as disabled. What is absolutely clear is that she was not given the knowledge or tools to protect herself; she does not know the concept of sex or rape or reproduction or how to differentiate bullying from serious threats of violence.
Her parents abuse her, although it would not have been described as such in the historical context presented. She is subject to severe corporal punishment for minor infractions. She is also fearful of punishment for behavior that should not be punished, such as attempting speech and crying when in distress. Her family makes no secret of the fact that they are ashamed of her; she is hidden away from visitors, is never permitted to go into town, and relatives avoid visiting to distance themselves from an association with her. Similarly,
Other characters view her parents treatment of her as just and even commendable. There is something particularly infuriating about abuse perceived as normal or accepted, and I would say this is true of both the characters and the author. I expect that later in the book some if not all of her parents treatment towards her would be seen as either harmful or misguided when it is revealed that she's really
The love interest and presumably the author are also clearly anti-abortion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Ableism, Physical abuse, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
Some of these warnings relate to things that the narrative fails to present as wrong or harmful.justinkhchen's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
A very tender love story. Instead of a sweeping, dramatic romance usually associates with the historical romance genre, Annie's Song focuses on (and convincingly delivers) the gradual affection between the disabled heroine and the hero. I particularly enjoy the 'ordinariness' of Alex, who is just a regular nice guy, doing his best in a difficult situation; which is rather refreshing, when the genre typically prefers a larger-than-life, archetypal personality for the hero (grumpy, damaged, possessive, etc.). Annie's character arc is a little harder to pinpoint, as the narrative takes noticeable liberty with the severity of her condition, sometimes she's quite childish and naive, yet in others she is able to piece together very complex understanding — while it doesn't ruin my overall enjoyment, it is present enough to take notice of the discrepancy (Also, this inconsistency makes some displays of female sexuality a little awkward to take in — referring to the 'ice cream' scene in particular).
As much as I enjoy the romantic vignettes (tea party in the attic, the music session with the organ, the mouse, etc.), I can't overlook the glaring oversights in its overall narrative: the lack of pregnancy symptoms on page even though it's a key part of the story, the unexplained absence of secondary characters (such as Annie's father, who simply vanished from the novel without resolving his arc), and characters constantly making ill-advised decisions, then reverse them, just to prolong the book's length. Lastly, as a personal preference, I like my historical romance with more intrigue and side plots, and Annie's Song is very much exclusively about the budding relationship — I was ready for it to wrap up at around the 80% mark.
Overall, I still had a decent time with Annie's Song despite its flaws and dated philosophy (one can argue if the set up is exploiting disability, but let's not even go there...), I enjoy its levity and not overindulging in the melodramatic — would make a nice double feature with Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale.
***The Rake Appreciation Society Book Club | February 2022 Selection***
A very tender love story. Instead of a sweeping, dramatic romance usually associates with the historical romance genre, Annie's Song focuses on (and convincingly delivers) the gradual affection between the disabled heroine and the hero. I particularly enjoy the 'ordinariness' of Alex, who is just a regular nice guy, doing his best in a difficult situation; which is rather refreshing, when the genre typically prefers a larger-than-life, archetypal personality for the hero (grumpy, damaged, possessive, etc.). Annie's character arc is a little harder to pinpoint, as the narrative takes noticeable liberty with the severity of her condition, sometimes she's quite childish and naive, yet in others she is able to piece together very complex understanding — while it doesn't ruin my overall enjoyment, it is present enough to take notice of the discrepancy (Also, this inconsistency makes some displays of female sexuality a little awkward to take in — referring to the 'ice cream' scene in particular).
As much as I enjoy the romantic vignettes (tea party in the attic, the music session with the organ, the mouse, etc.), I can't overlook the glaring oversights in its overall narrative: the lack of pregnancy symptoms on page even though it's a key part of the story, the unexplained absence of secondary characters (such as Annie's father, who simply vanished from the novel without resolving his arc), and characters constantly making ill-advised decisions, then reverse them, just to prolong the book's length. Lastly, as a personal preference, I like my historical romance with more intrigue and side plots, and Annie's Song is very much exclusively about the budding relationship — I was ready for it to wrap up at around the 80% mark.
Overall, I still had a decent time with Annie's Song despite its flaws and dated philosophy (one can argue if the set up is exploiting disability, but let's not even go there...), I enjoy its levity and not overindulging in the melodramatic — would make a nice double feature with Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale.
***The Rake Appreciation Society Book Club | February 2022 Selection***
salma101's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
sofia_santana's review against another edition
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
bhookjunkhie's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those book that is just perfect in every way!...Highly recommended!!...Going on the Ultimate Faves Shelf for sure:)
gwynt's review against another edition
4.0
Very sweet and well written, but a little far fetched as a premiss. I also felt while it was necessary for her to be tentative after being abused at the start of the book, it seemed to go on for a little too long.
Overall enjoyable.
Overall enjoyable.
bluebarryhoneybee's review against another edition
3.0
This was super cute! I was a little dissatisfied with the ending, but, idk. I still had a good time! A unique little story. That’s all I can say about it. It’s probably a 3.5 for me, but a high 3.5.
ashleyreadsanything's review against another edition
dark
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jreyn's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
pendygal80's review against another edition
3.5
Overall I liked this story but I didn't love it. Going into it I knew I would have to reconcile some of the word choices with the knowledge of when it was written. And it was still difficult to read sometimes. I loved seeing Annie's world open up after her marriage to Alex. When he realized she was Deaf, Alex was determined to do everything he could to help her learn to interact with those around her and I enjoyed watching that happen. I'm glad I finally read this as it had been on my radar for awhile; there was a sweetness to it that just made me smile.