Scan barcode
A review by thesaltiestlibrarian
The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
TW: This review contains subject matter that may distress survivors or current victims of domestic abuse. You are not alone, and there is hope. Please fight on.
My people. Hear, ye.
This book is fantastic.
The biggest overhanging theme will speak to so many people who feel like they themselves cannot speak out, and Dawson writes from personal experience. Which makes it that much more heartbreaking.
Chelsea lives with her abusive, narcissistic husband and aims every day to please and placate him so he’ll stay away from their two girls—Ella, 17, and Brooklyn, 5. He employs a chokehold so that even though he forces her unconscious and demeans her, grabs her throat and throws beer bottles around the kitchen, Chelsea doesn’t sustain bruises and visible scars. Besides, David is such a kind man to his friends and a ladies’ man! How could he be abusive? Chelsea must be exaggerating.
Clearly. Mmhmm. Because men like David aren’t depositing daily at the Bank of Bullshit. I should know. My biological father was a one such man.
So here we are in Florida, Chelsea and her daughters suffering at the hands of the man who’s supposed to protect and defend them, and uh-oh! Mosquitoes are carrying a little extra somethin-somethin along to unwitting targets. The start of this new pandemic is a poor grandma who suddenly loses all control over her conscious self and beats a woman to death with a bottle of salad dressing in a Costco. This new pandemic is quickly named the Violence.
Chelsea’s mother Patricia married a very rich (clearly very crooked) judge and has enough money to get vaccinated, and to also vaccinate her granddaughters. See, the person who discovered the vaccination method for the Violence sold it to a pharmaceutical company (that CLEARLY wasn’t based off Purdue or anything), and now only the ultra-rich can either 1) flee north where mosquitoes don’t have such an iron-fisted grip, or 2) shell out $30,000 a pop for a bifurcated needle in the arm.
Unfortunately, Patricia herself was abused by her mother and her mother’s “man-friends.” The story never specifically mentions sexual abuse, but one has to wonder if these men turned their predatory eyes on a shivering bunny trying to hide. There’s a theme here, but we’ll discuss it later.
One night Chelsea goads David into attempting to beat her to death with a softball bat, and as she hides in the bathroom, she calls a hotline to report a possible case of the Violence. The police come and arrest the bastard, and then Chelsea discovers in her brief stint of total freedom that she has the Violence herself. The thing about this virus is that the person seized in a bout of storming has absolutely no idea what they’re doing. They black out, and when they eventually come back into their right mind, their brain has held no memory of the fatal event. The nearest living thing is dead, and the attacker must deal with a heavy case of survivor’s guilt.
Chelsea knows that her mother may feel enough compassion on her granddaughters to want to vaccinate them, maybe take them north while things play out in the dirty south. But Patricia has the condition that Chelsea surrender the girls to her and go get a job so she can earn money for her own vaccination.
Going any further is spoiler territory, and I won’t do that to you.
So. We’ve got some themes here. Domestic abuse. Generational trauma. Class disparity. Misogyny. Late-stage capitalism. Facing and tearing down stereotypes by revealing how silly and ridiculous they are.
“But, Caitlin!” You say. “This is a suspense/horror novel!”
I know! Isn’t it great??? One of the best mediums for exploring the problems plaguing our world—and how we can address them—is through story! Delilah S. Dawson threw what looked like wild darts at the start of this story, but by the last page, and on closer examination, every dart hit its own bullseye. We get character growth. We get healing wounds. We get the gap of life quality and availability of resources depending on the amount of money you have or earn.
GUYS. CURRENCY IS A MADE-UP CONCEPT ANYWAY. WE COULD BE TRADING IN CHEESE WHEELS, FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE, AND IT WOULD BE THE SAME DAMN THING AS A DOLLAR BILL.
Anyway.
There are moments that had me clenching my whole body, and flashes of hope, and pockets of seething rage. Dawson’s handling of domestic abuse is 100% spot on, and I’m so sorry that she had to live under that oppression growing up. The signs are not always obvious, and we see that here. The telegraphed signals aren’t always taken to heart before a relationship can commence, and we’re shown that the fault never lay with the victim. People can become desperate for human connection, or are never taught what red flags to look for in any type of relationship, or those red flags are normalized in someone’s mind as the standard for a loving marriage/friendship/partnership/whatever.
We could go on and on about the tiny details, but only after you’ve read the book. Make a hold at your local library, or support independent bookstores by purchasing your volume on Bookshop.org, but any way you get it, you have GOT to read THE VIOLENCE!
If you or loved ones are suffering from domestic abuse, or an abusive relationship, here are some numbers you can call—confidentially.
In the US: 1-800-799-7233
In Canada: 1-866-863-0511
Also the website: www.domesticshelters.org
In the UK: 08082000247
In Ireland: 1800 341 900
You’re not alone. Help is just on the horizon. Fight for one more moment. We will hold you up.
TW: This review contains subject matter that may distress survivors or current victims of domestic abuse. You are not alone, and there is hope. Please fight on.
My people. Hear, ye.
This book is fantastic.
The biggest overhanging theme will speak to so many people who feel like they themselves cannot speak out, and Dawson writes from personal experience. Which makes it that much more heartbreaking.
Chelsea lives with her abusive, narcissistic husband and aims every day to please and placate him so he’ll stay away from their two girls—Ella, 17, and Brooklyn, 5. He employs a chokehold so that even though he forces her unconscious and demeans her, grabs her throat and throws beer bottles around the kitchen, Chelsea doesn’t sustain bruises and visible scars. Besides, David is such a kind man to his friends and a ladies’ man! How could he be abusive? Chelsea must be exaggerating.
Clearly. Mmhmm. Because men like David aren’t depositing daily at the Bank of Bullshit. I should know. My biological father was a one such man.
So here we are in Florida, Chelsea and her daughters suffering at the hands of the man who’s supposed to protect and defend them, and uh-oh! Mosquitoes are carrying a little extra somethin-somethin along to unwitting targets. The start of this new pandemic is a poor grandma who suddenly loses all control over her conscious self and beats a woman to death with a bottle of salad dressing in a Costco. This new pandemic is quickly named the Violence.
Chelsea’s mother Patricia married a very rich (clearly very crooked) judge and has enough money to get vaccinated, and to also vaccinate her granddaughters. See, the person who discovered the vaccination method for the Violence sold it to a pharmaceutical company (that CLEARLY wasn’t based off Purdue or anything), and now only the ultra-rich can either 1) flee north where mosquitoes don’t have such an iron-fisted grip, or 2) shell out $30,000 a pop for a bifurcated needle in the arm.
Unfortunately, Patricia herself was abused by her mother and her mother’s “man-friends.” The story never specifically mentions sexual abuse, but one has to wonder if these men turned their predatory eyes on a shivering bunny trying to hide. There’s a theme here, but we’ll discuss it later.
One night Chelsea goads David into attempting to beat her to death with a softball bat, and as she hides in the bathroom, she calls a hotline to report a possible case of the Violence. The police come and arrest the bastard, and then Chelsea discovers in her brief stint of total freedom that she has the Violence herself. The thing about this virus is that the person seized in a bout of storming has absolutely no idea what they’re doing. They black out, and when they eventually come back into their right mind, their brain has held no memory of the fatal event. The nearest living thing is dead, and the attacker must deal with a heavy case of survivor’s guilt.
Chelsea knows that her mother may feel enough compassion on her granddaughters to want to vaccinate them, maybe take them north while things play out in the dirty south. But Patricia has the condition that Chelsea surrender the girls to her and go get a job so she can earn money for her own vaccination.
Going any further is spoiler territory, and I won’t do that to you.
So. We’ve got some themes here. Domestic abuse. Generational trauma. Class disparity. Misogyny. Late-stage capitalism. Facing and tearing down stereotypes by revealing how silly and ridiculous they are.
“But, Caitlin!” You say. “This is a suspense/horror novel!”
I know! Isn’t it great??? One of the best mediums for exploring the problems plaguing our world—and how we can address them—is through story! Delilah S. Dawson threw what looked like wild darts at the start of this story, but by the last page, and on closer examination, every dart hit its own bullseye. We get character growth. We get healing wounds. We get the gap of life quality and availability of resources depending on the amount of money you have or earn.
GUYS. CURRENCY IS A MADE-UP CONCEPT ANYWAY. WE COULD BE TRADING IN CHEESE WHEELS, FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE, AND IT WOULD BE THE SAME DAMN THING AS A DOLLAR BILL.
Anyway.
There are moments that had me clenching my whole body, and flashes of hope, and pockets of seething rage. Dawson’s handling of domestic abuse is 100% spot on, and I’m so sorry that she had to live under that oppression growing up. The signs are not always obvious, and we see that here. The telegraphed signals aren’t always taken to heart before a relationship can commence, and we’re shown that the fault never lay with the victim. People can become desperate for human connection, or are never taught what red flags to look for in any type of relationship, or those red flags are normalized in someone’s mind as the standard for a loving marriage/friendship/partnership/whatever.
We could go on and on about the tiny details, but only after you’ve read the book. Make a hold at your local library, or support independent bookstores by purchasing your volume on Bookshop.org, but any way you get it, you have GOT to read THE VIOLENCE!
If you or loved ones are suffering from domestic abuse, or an abusive relationship, here are some numbers you can call—confidentially.
In the US: 1-800-799-7233
In Canada: 1-866-863-0511
Also the website: www.domesticshelters.org
In the UK: 08082000247
In Ireland: 1800 341 900
You’re not alone. Help is just on the horizon. Fight for one more moment. We will hold you up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Medical content, Homophobia, Excrement, and Confinement