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A review by theshiftyshadow
Asking For It by Louise O'Neill
5.0
This is simply an incredible book.
It's a bit of a hot button issue at the moment so I wasn't sure what to expect, hasn't this kind of thing been covered from all angles already?
Thankfully O'Neill has the talent to tackle this subject with urgency and anger and at the same time with subtlety and care. The central character is extremely unlikable at the start, it's amazing that O'Neill can make her sympathetic and make the reader care so deeply about her by the end of the book.
As I said, this is a well worn issue at this point. If you're familiar with the Steubenville Case of a few years ago... this is basically the Irish version. O'Neill shines a light on a multitude of societies problems, young people living through social media, parochial attitudes, double standards when it comes to sex and consent and when it comes to talking about such issues.
This is, I think, a hugely important book that should be read by as many people as possible, young and old, male and female. I'd even go so far as to say it should be on the school curriculum, but I can imagine how Catholic Ireland would react to that!
I read most of this book in one go, about 300 pages of it. I just couldn't put it down and although the ending was probably not what I would have wanted it was painfully realistic and again something that is worth talking about.
It's a bit of a hot button issue at the moment so I wasn't sure what to expect, hasn't this kind of thing been covered from all angles already?
Thankfully O'Neill has the talent to tackle this subject with urgency and anger and at the same time with subtlety and care. The central character is extremely unlikable at the start, it's amazing that O'Neill can make her sympathetic and make the reader care so deeply about her by the end of the book.
As I said, this is a well worn issue at this point. If you're familiar with the Steubenville Case of a few years ago... this is basically the Irish version. O'Neill shines a light on a multitude of societies problems, young people living through social media, parochial attitudes, double standards when it comes to sex and consent and when it comes to talking about such issues.
This is, I think, a hugely important book that should be read by as many people as possible, young and old, male and female. I'd even go so far as to say it should be on the school curriculum, but I can imagine how Catholic Ireland would react to that!
I read most of this book in one go, about 300 pages of it. I just couldn't put it down and although the ending was probably not what I would have wanted it was painfully realistic and again something that is worth talking about.