A review by bella_mckinnon
The Assistant by Bernard Malamud

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Well written and a very engaging read. I related a lot to Helen's character, and her, plus her father Morris, became my favourites. However, partly due to my affinity for Helen, and mostly due to, I think, basic empathy, I found it really hard to read about Helen getting constantly 
raped and/or sexually assaulted by the men in her life.
 I felt so much for her, and I did not enjoy the ending of the story that 
suggested she might begin to trust Frank or rekindle a relationship with him in future, despite his constant harassments and assaults against her, and his generally immoral character.
 I feel  very conflicted about the story because it was so well-written in my opinion, and I appreciated reading it. But I felt so much for Morris and especially Helen that the constant injustice they faced was hard to read. Gritty and real though. Tough read, but I'm glad I read it.
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