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A review by ashsalt
The Dazzle of Day by Molly Gloss
1.0
I thought I was going to love this novel. It's slow and loosely focused. Rather than focusing on fast-paced action, it reflects on community, privacy, and group decision making, and that seems perfect to portray a generations-long journey like this. I loved the unique angle of having adherents of peace religions as potential colonists going out into space.
Content warning: The next part of this review discusses rape.
.
.
.
But about halfway through the book, there is a rape, an absolutely unnecessary and very badly dealt with rape. We get characters who won't actually call it rape, a committee who shows up to try to make peace between the woman and her husband-rapist, and just a muddle from the author as far as what we're supposed to take from all of this. Maybe it's supposed to highlight the lack of privacy in these close quarters and the urgent need for everyone to work together because they're stuck on this ship together, but none of the POV characters think about this stuff in a way that makes it feel worthwhile to include the rape at all.
I especially abhor the way the novel seems to suggest we should empathize with the rapist because he was having such a rough few weeks before he raped his wife. And the rape takes place in one of his POV chapters. It's quite upsetting to read, and nothing that takes place after justifies including the rape at all, particularly in this manner.
This book had so much promise and so many things I'd rather be discussing than the rape in the middle. But the novel is irredeemable. A few weeks ago I was excitedly talking about this book to other people I thought might like it. Now I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Content warning: The next part of this review discusses rape.
.
.
.
But about halfway through the book, there is a rape, an absolutely unnecessary and very badly dealt with rape. We get characters who won't actually call it rape, a committee who shows up to try to make peace between the woman and her husband-rapist, and just a muddle from the author as far as what we're supposed to take from all of this. Maybe it's supposed to highlight the lack of privacy in these close quarters and the urgent need for everyone to work together because they're stuck on this ship together, but none of the POV characters think about this stuff in a way that makes it feel worthwhile to include the rape at all.
I especially abhor the way the novel seems to suggest we should empathize with the rapist because he was having such a rough few weeks before he raped his wife. And the rape takes place in one of his POV chapters. It's quite upsetting to read, and nothing that takes place after justifies including the rape at all, particularly in this manner.
This book had so much promise and so many things I'd rather be discussing than the rape in the middle. But the novel is irredeemable. A few weeks ago I was excitedly talking about this book to other people I thought might like it. Now I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.