Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - Reeling

Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Reeling by Lola Lafon

9 reviews

elliott_the_clementine's review

dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A masterpiece. I genuinely do not have the words to encapsulate the rawness of this book and its complete and unapologetic frankness. As someone who grew up in dance, albeit in America and three decades after fictional Cléo, I can say that the depiction of what it is like to come into adolescence in the dance world is truly unparalleled. I especially appreciated how Lola Lafon did not romanticize the ugly parts of the dance world and portrayed them alongside the very real allure of dance as art and entertainment. Stunning.

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nerguez's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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anneahoi's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.0

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woundsdrawflies's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Fully competent novel with a very intelligent and empathetic portrayal organized sexual exploitation of young girls.

Held back by the — to me — utterly baffling decision to have the main character marry an incredibly bland man who apparently mainly belittles her, and be fixed through this + having his baby. You could make the argument that she is deliberately recloseting herself and choosing the apparent stability of heteronormativity in exchange for an unfulfilling relationship and inauthentic life, but I'm not so sure that this was the intention — it would make for a very bleak ending in which Cleo never escapes the pressures that led to her abuse, and finds herself in quite a similar situation to where she was back then. Think of her husband telling her she should consider quitting her career so she can relax during the birth of their child, directly calling back to what her abusers told her while assaulting her.

I read the English translation by Hildegarde Serle, which I've heard does to a degree lose the fine touches of the original, possibly influencing my opinion. It is still perfectly serviceable, but I would recommend reading the original French over the translation, if possible.

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