Justified Anger by Jennifer Colne; Sobering Account of the Effects of Molestation and Incest on a Family

 Justified Anger by Jennifer Colne; Sobering Account of the Effects of Molestation and Incest on a Family 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: It can be difficult for a family when one of their members is the victim of a crime. Sometimes the crime affects more than just the one who was hurt. It can affect everyone around them and fill them with feelings of anxiety, depression, anger, trauma, denial, and activism. Worse than that would be if the perpetrator was a family member as well. The actions and consequences can split a family apart as they take sides.

That is the situation faced by Jennifer Colne in her memoir, Justified Anger. This is a sobering, and unnerving book about the effects of child molestation and incest on her family.

Colne begins her book describing the troubles facing her daughters in 2001 when her eldest Katherine had been hospitalized for mental health problems and her younger daughter, Emma, lost custody of her children in a draining court battle with her abusive ex. This custody fight would lead to Emma being hospitalized as well after a suicide attempt and severe flashbacks. During one of these flashbacks Emma revealed that she was raped by her Uncle David. Later Katherine confessed that the same thing happened to her. David was arrested and charged with counts of rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault. Unfortunately that's not the end of the story. Emma was convinced that she was blocking something from her mind. After a few years and a second marriage, Emma remembered what it was. She was not only raped and molested by her Uncle but by her father, Steve as well.

Colne’s intense descriptions of her daughters' abuse and the aftermath including their fractured mental states reach into the Reader’s souls and understand the pain that this family went through and in many ways are still going through. The abusers left their marks leaving their victims in fragile states unable to cope with many of the stresses in their lives. 

It wasn't just the initial crime of sexual assault that made David and Steve monsters. It was the continuous after effects that created a lifetime of trauma from two innocent girls who were hurt by men that they should have trusted to protect and love them. Katherine and Emma suffered physical, mental, and emotional scars that never fully healed as they got older. They were in tears, raged, and engaged in self harm and addictive behaviors. 

One of the most painful chapters occurs years later when Emma, surrounded by her mother, children, and husband, regresses to a childlike state. Her memories of her childhood were muddled with those of her children. She couldn't separate the past from the present, referred to people in her children's lives by names of people that she knew as a child, could not recall recent memories, or recognize her children in their photos. Skills that she was adept in like cooking became unknown to her. She regressed to a mental child in an adult body. Steve not only robbed his daughter of her childhood by molesting her. He and his brother in law robbed her of her adulthood by replacing a fulfilled life of a good career, happy marriage, secure home, loving children with one of terror, fractured mental states, impulsive dangerous behavior, and internal misery. 

David and especially Steve did more long term damage. They didn't just destroy Katherine and Emma. They broke apart their whole family. Even though the sisters were on the same side in accusing and charging David, they stood on opposite sides when it came to Steve. Colne supported Emma's account recalling earlier moments of sexual, verbal, and physical abuse that her former husband inflicted on her. That was more than Katherine did.

Katherine refused to accept that her own father raped her sister. She claimed that Emma was a liar and was trying to get attention. It is bizarre that a woman who had been sexually assaulted by one family member and developed emotional and psychological problems would not be more empathetic towards her sister who had been going through the same thing. Emma’s state clearly showed that she had been abused if not by their father then by somebody. But unlike her mother who recognized the signs and confirmed Emma's account, Katherine blatantly ignored them and defiantly venerated her father.

Katherine's denial might have been a means to protect herself psychologically and might have been understandable. But the volatile extremes that she went through to discredit Emma are less defensible. She not only purposely sided with her father but influenced other family members to do the same such as her and Emma's younger brother Colne's son, Liam and Emma's own estranged children. They cut not only Emma out of their lives but Colne as well removing themselves of a sister, niece, and mother but also a mother, aunt, and grandmother. 

We don't get any understanding of Katherine's transition from defender and fellow victim to antagonist because it is told by Colne and she clearly doesn't know either. There might be speculation from the Reader but nothing known or said. Instead, Katherine and the rest of Steve's defenders having so much vehement animosity towards his accusers can be seen as yet another crime that can be laid at Steve's feet.

Justified Anger is a realistic book about trauma. People don't always recover after one hospitalization or breakthrough. It sometimes takes many stays and they can exhibit the same behaviors for years and even decades afterwards. Sometimes perpetrators don't get the punishment that they deserve. Sometimes the story doesn't end with hugs and reconciliation. Sometimes it ends with making peace with oneself and that's how Colne ends her book. Her family is still broken. Emma may still have psychological problems. Katherine is still estranged from the rest of the family. But Colne and Emma have made peace with themselves and have strengthened their connections as mother and daughter.

For now, that's enough.

Weekly Reader: Satan’s Fan Club by Mark Kirkbride; Thriller Looks Into The Darkest Sides of Humanity

 

Weekly Reader: Satan’s Fan Club by Mark Kirkbride; Thriller Looks Into The Darkest Sides of Humanity

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Well we saw The Devil take a holiday off in A Festive Juxtaposition, now let's see what his biggest fans are doing. Well sort of.

Mark Kirkbride’s Satan's Fan Club is a disturbing intriguing psychological thriller which explores the darkest sides of human nature, the secret desires that we don't want anyone to know about, and the people who are willing to let those secrets come forward.

James Glavier is a young man who is invited to join a secret society known as Satan's Fan Club. The entrance fee is a very simple one. He has to commit a crime that is very personal to him and he has to kill someone important to him. It's not like James is a law abiding do-gooding citizen anyway. He is sexually attracted to his twin sister, Louise and the two live an isolated suffocating existence with each other as their only companion. James also sees darkness around him as his father is attracted to the au pair, Riika. Not to mention there is a serial killer on the loose and his victims are found awfully close to the Glavier household.

This is one of those types of books where it's hard to root for anyone because everyone is so reprehensible in some way. Satan's Fan Club did not have to do a whole lot to make these characters explore their dark side since they were pretty deplorable to begin with. They just pushed them along the path that they already took the first step on.

James and Louise’s relationship is one that is born out of toxicity and mutual abuse. They isolate each other from the world around them and are extraordinarily possessive of each other. They know that if found out, their affair could be catastrophic but they don't care. If anything, it excites them even more because it's dangerous and forbidden. It seems to be born from a selfish need to be the only one in each other's life and to live recklessly rather than any type of real affection.

Their parents are just as bad. Their dim mother seems to turn a blind eye to their affection or is easily deceived. It's only later that we discover that her naivete is a front for hiding her own jealous and duplicitous nature. She only reveals what she knows when it serves her best interest.

Their father is someone who talks a good game about religion but does not follow his own standards. He behaves like a regular church goer by quoting the Bible, doing good works, and acting like a pillar of the community. That's what people see on the outside. Inwardly, however, he is a philanderer who barely hides his affair with Riika. He has a violent temper when things don't go his way or something counters his religious beliefs. He is a hypocrite of the highest order.

The Glavier family is so unlikeable that at one point their young daughter shows some violent tendencies suggesting that she too will end up like everyone else.

The final chapters are dripped in irony as the consequences of the characters’ actions are called forward and secrets are revealed. Even the true identity of Satan's Fan Club and its members are called into question as the characters discover too late that this is one club where the membership cost is too high.

New Book Alert: The Cabin Sessions by Isobel Blackthorn; Limited Setting and Ominous Sense of Dread Highlight This Session

 

New Book Alert: The Cabin Sessions by Isobel Blackthorn; Limited Setting and Ominous Sense of Dread Highlight This Session

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: The strongest adjective that I can use to describe Isobel Blackthorn's The Cabin Sessions is "ominous." On the surface not much happens until the very end but the entire book fills the Reader with such dread and anticipation that they know something bad is going to happen long before it does.

The Cabin Sessions is different from Blackthorn's previous works, Prison in the Sun and The Ghost of Villa Winter. Both of those books were mysteries involving murder, hate crimes, and sexual assault set against the backdrop of the beautiful Canary Islands. In those works, the exterior setting was just as important as the plot and character's actions. The beautiful island is a contrast to the darkness that the characters suffer. 

The Cabin Sessions does something similar but with a different type of setting. Instead of opening up, the action is contained and limited. The setting of the book is mostly on Christmas Eve inside a bar/nightclub/local hangout in small town Burton called The Cabin. At The Cabin, musicians and other entertainers of dubious talent entertain the locals one night a week. Most of the locals attend the sessions to drink, listen to or mock the music, and try their best to ignore their troubles. 

It doesn't help the creepy atmosphere that The Cabin Sessions is full of miserable characters with enough emotional baggage to fill an entire airport terminal. The character's interior lives add to the overall dread as they are filled with secret sins, obsessions, and relationships ready to come out.

The cast includes: 

Adam- A guitarist and newcomer to Burton. He just ended an unhealthy relationship with the abusive rocker, Juan. He is dealing with the death of Benny, his close friend and mentor and Juan's jealousy over Adam's friendship with other men. He also is terrified  when he sees a sinister unknown man outside the Cabin that may have done something illegal. When Juan barges in to fill in for the recently deceased Benny, Adam is filled with revulsion and longing for his ex.

Philip and Eva- They are a brother and sister who live next to Adam and across the bridge from The Cabin. Philip is a plumber and handy person who has his way with many of the women (and some of the men) of Burton. He has a salacious history and is one third of a love triangle that is in the process of ending badly.

Eva is usually in her own little world doing peculiar things like collecting stamps from her job at the post office, holding her breath under water for a record time, and talking to "mermaids" that only she can see. However, her chapters reveals forbidden longings and desires that she is unable to reveal. 

Rebekah and David- The proprietors of The Cabin and organizers of the Sessions. They are an ultra religious couple that try to keep a firm hold over their daughter, Hannah as she serves food and buses tables. Unfortunately, Hannah rebels against their watchful gaze by sneaking around with men. She ends up in a very precarious situation.

Cynthia- Dulcimer player, local eccentric, and some believe witch. She is in mourning for her sister, Joy, who most believe disappeared but she is convinced that she died. Cynthia also has a prophetic gift in which she displays that one of the gang is going to die before the night is through.

Delilah- She is the closest thing that Burton has to a diva. She is often the center of attention and acts as a confidante to many of the other characters. Also her father was the pastor at Burton but was defrocked after a sex scandal. She may have some buried rage against those who made it happen.

There are also a few other characters like Nathan (terrible songwriter, Hannah's boyfriend, and is also close to Eva), Alf (blues guitarist with a questionable musical history that he often embellishes), and Joshua and Ed (a duo who are often together, the former has a criminal history and the latter a bad tempered wife). 

With the small cast and limited setting, The Cabin Sessions would make a good stage play or short film. (Eva's chapters in particular would make effective monologues of a woman who may be in the process of losing her sanity and could be a very unreliable narrator.)

Most of the conflicts are implied and revealed through conversations and inner thoughts which often contradict each other. Everyone is hiding something and no one is revealing anything until they are forced to.

Most of the troubles are hinted at and it's partly because of the setting being largely in the Cabin. Despite some dramatic confrontations and dreadful situations throughout the night (like a rancid smell, Cynthia's predictions, and the strange man outside) no one makes an effort to leave the Cabin. It almost invites the possibility that they can't or won't leave. Perhaps The Cabin serves as a sort of Purgatory or holding pattern, even an askew and imperfect sanctuary, which tries to keep the bad things away. 

Unfortunately, The Cabin Sessions shows that troubles don't end at the front door of The Cabin. Sometimes they bang the door down and shake the Cabin's walls to create a giant explosion making what was once hidden and ominous become upfront and terrifying.

Classics Corner: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews; Emotional Moving Gothic Novel Is More Than Its Titillating Controversial Reputation

Classics Corner: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews; Emotional Moving Gothic Novel Is More Than Its Titillating Controversial Reputation

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: If I were to ask people to name one thing about V.C. Andrews's Gothic novel, Flowers in the Attic, it would be “Brother and Sister Incest.” The answer would be “Well yes, technically.”




As though it were the Fifty Shades of its day, the first book in Andrews's Dollanganger Series raunchy reputation precedes itself. Though with E.L. James’ barely disguised Twilight fanfiction (and badly written Twilight fanfiction at that), the reputation is all that it has to offer Readers.

While Flowers in the Attic is attached to controversy and many read the books because of the controversy (I remember many girls in Middle and High School with a copy in their hands), the book is actually better than the reputation it has been given.

At least the writing in the first book. The rest of Andrews's Dollanganger series takes a definite nose dive and foregoes quality, theme, and characterization to introduce plot points in an attempt to provoke the Reader and bring controversy. It almost becomes cartoonish or soap opera-like the way that the sexual themes and melodramatic plot points pile up and repeat themselves in the later books. Characters that were once interesting become caricatures and Cathy Dollanganger, the series’ main protagonist, almost hits Mary Sue proportions by the third or fourth book.

However, the first book in the series, Flowers in the Attic, balances the rest out as a well-written modern Gothic novel about child abuse, survival instincts, religious hypocrisy, and the lengths people go through to get money.




In the beginning, the Dollanganger Family seems like the perfect 1950’s dollhouse family. (A family joke has many people describe the fair-haired siblings Chris, Cathy, Carrie, and Cory as “The Dresden Dolls.”) A father who is a well-to-do businessman, a mother who is very loving towards her husband and children, and four children who are bright and brimming with talent. Eldest son, Chris is a genius and budding medical doctor, middle daughter, Cathy is a future ballerina, while the twins, Carrie and Corey are talented prodigies in music and animal studies respectively.

Everything is perfect in their lives until their father, Christopher is killed in a car accident. The family is left destitute when their mother, Corrine, reveals that they have been living above their means and that she has no marketable or employable skills so she has no choice but to pack the kids to Virginia and live with her estranged parents.




When the Dollanganger Family arrives at Corrine’s childhood home, they are met by a very frosty stern grandmother who orders the children to live inside the third floor bedroom and gives several orders. The orders include that they can only go to the attic, they are to be never heard or seen by anyone, and that their dying grandfather is never to know that the children are in the house or even that they exist.

The reason for all these rules, the Grandmother (as the kids call her “The Grandmother.” There is no love lost in this family.), says is because their parents “lived in sin.”: Their father was their grandfather's half-brother and therefore their mother's half-uncle. Christopher and Corrine eloped, changed their last names from Foxworth to Dollanganger, and raised their children who were none the wiser. The overly religious grandmother keeps the children locked up partly because Corrine's father hasn't forgiven her and she doesn't want him to know any “unholy issue” came from their parent’s marriage. She also doesn't want the children of the same sex lying next to each other or seeing each other dressing for fear that the children will repeat the same pattern as their parent's.




Ironically, the barriers that The Grandmother puts around the children enable them to do the very thing that she was trying to prevent. Flowers in the Attic is a perfect example of a self-fulfilling prophecy like Oedipus Rex in which the character's attempts to stop something plunge them right into the very thing they are trying to stop. The Grandmother is blinded by religious intolerance and her narrow view of sin that she keeps the children locked up for three years deprived of any outside stimulation. Her desire to keep the adolescent Chris and Cathy (who age from 15-18 and 12-15 respectively in their captivity) from any friends or peers their own age, right when their bodies are developing and their sexuality is beginning to be explored, proves to be a detriment. Cathy and Chris are going through biological changes and have heightened drives and no one else with which to explore them. Is it any wonder that two teenage siblings would explore these drives with each other when they are cut off from any other outside stimulation? The incest between the two siblings is less of an attempt at arousal than it becomes an attempt to survive in a claustrophobic environment. Which is more than the later books have. They sacrifice paragraphs that develop the characters that just happened to contain sexual themes for sexy paragraphs that are written solely to titillate the Reader and provide cheap thrills.




Flowers in the Attic is less about sex than it is about survival. Like the passages that describe incest between Chris and Cathy, everything they do is a means of surviving their three year captivity. The two older children act as parents to the younger children becoming better parents than the narcissistic Corrine and unloving Grandmother. When Corey and Carrie first complain that they are bored, Chris and Cathy create various games and activities such as putting on plays and drawing flowers and animals to create a paper garden. They soothe the younger ones’ fears and nurse them through illnesses (which Chris is able to diagnose symptoms because of old medical books left in the Attic). They stand up for Corey in front of their grandmother and mother when he becomes fatally ill. In some of the more heartbreaking moments after the Grandmother starves them for a week, Chris cuts himself and gives the twins his blood to drink. They show deep love and self-sacrifice more than the adults around them.




If Cathy and Chris show love and self-sacrifice then their mother and grandmother show the opposite. Corrine and her mother vary in their motives and means of abusive behavior, but both contribute to the children's deprivation. The Grandmother is practically a character from a Grim fairy tale. She is bound by her interpretation of the Bible and God's retribution over his forgiveness and love. She is hypocritical in her dealings with her daughter and grandchildren constantly taunting them with “God sees everything you do” paying little attention to the abuse that she inflicts.

She is also a master at manipulating the children with emotional abuse. There are a few times when Cathy and Chris manage to sneak out to the roof and in one passage make it as far as the yard, but they are so weakened by The Grandmother's cruel treatment that they don't even attempt to run away. (In fact they don't run away until they realize that their lives are in danger.)




The Grandmother's behavior doesn't surprise Cathy and Chris at all because she hates them from the moment that they walk into her mansion. It's their mother’s behavior that surprises them. A woman who was once very loving and affectionate and visits her children every day decreases her visits and then stops them altogether. Originally, Corrine is forced to reveal marks on her back to show that she too is a victim of her parent's abuse. She claims that she is saving money and attending night school classes so she can leave her parents. She also claims that she has to obey her father so she can win back his love. However, she also appears dressed in fancy clothes, gives them expensive toys (using money that could have funded their get away), and reports going on trips, attending dances, and being courted by handsome rich men. Naturally, the children become suspicious that their mother is less concerned about them than she is about the bling.




It is purposely left unclear whether Corrine was always a narcissistic selfish person and the children were blinded by their youthful naivety and belief that “Mommy and Daddy were always perfect” (Chris certainly favors this as being close to their mother and defending her when she isn't around. Cathy, more cynical and closer to her late father, doesn't agree) or Corrine became that way since moving back in with her parents and succumbing to their views. (The movies like the 1987 film and the 2015 miniseries show earlier scenes of her suspicions and vanity to make her antagonistic character more obvious from the word, “go.”)

But definitely as they are held captive, Corrine cares less and less about them and more about the financial gain she will receive. Corrine's longing for money becomes so obsessive that she commits unthinkable acts towards her children.




Once they realize that their lives are in danger, Cathy and Chris make plans to escape. Though the Dollanganger Children escape their captivity physically, the emotional scars remain. One thing the other books in the series show us is how the abuse stays with the Dollangangers as they continue to have health problems caused by their imprisonment and undernourishment, still retain post-trauma and other disorders, and later exhibit unhealthy behaviors towards significant others and children.




If the writing in the later books could have kept that emotion and retained the thematic elements of abuse, trauma, hypocrisy, and greed the Flowers in the Attic had, The Dollanganger Series could have been very compelling reading. Unfortunately, the others don't measure up and only the original reigns supreme.