Well-Intentioned, but Sometimes Problematic

(Trigger warning for rape.)

Just a few days before the start of his senior year, Ben meets her: Ani Taylor, the new kid in town. A California transplant, Ani is everything Ben wants in a girl: Direct. Outspoken. Ballsy. Artistic with just a hint of hippie chick optimism. Gorgeous, with legs that just won't quit. And the best part? She's totally into him, too.

All this changes when four or more young men gang-rape Ani during a house party. (While the book's synopsis implies doubt about what exactly transpired at the party, Desir establishes that Ani was either a) drugged or b) intoxicated, either of which makes what happened rape.) As if being violently assaulted isn't bad enough, first thing Monday morning the rumors start to fly. Before long, Ani's known as the girl who fucked a lighter for an audience of strangers. Between the rape and subsequent bullying ("Firecrotch," "Cum Dumpster," and "The Manhole" are just a few of the nicknames devised by her classmates), Ani spirals into depression, shuts down emotionally, and begins acting out sexually. Meanwhile, Ben tries desperately to put the pieces of Ani - "his" Ani - back together again.

Fault Line is a well-intentioned look at rape that's sometimes problematic. Before even starting the book, I was concerned that by telling the entirety of the story from Ben's eyes, Desir would draw attention away from the real victim: Ani. To be fair, Desir populates Ben's world with people - women: Ani's best friend Kate; rape crisis counselor Beth; and fellow support group member Sofia - who remind him that this isn't about him, but about Ani. And, ultimately, Ben is disabused of the notion that he alone can "fix" Ani, or that she even wants him to. Yet Ben still often comes across as narcissistic and self-centered; the real tragedy isn't that multiple men violated Ani in the most horrific way possible, but that he's lost his first love.

The rape occurs about 1/3 of the way into the book; for the first 70 pages, Desir introduces us Ben, Ani, and Ben + Ani, trying to make us care about them as people and as a couple. Maybe I'm just too old (36!), but I didn't find either character relatable, or even all that likable. Though not an altogether odious guy, Ben has clearly spent the past 17 years internalizing misogyny; he's full of sexist microaggressions (unease at thinking that his girlfriend might have had consensual sex with other guys; "staking his claim" on a girl, even as he acknowledges that this is what "cavemen" do; dismissing excessive displays of emotion as weak and feminine; etc.). His attitude toward Beth the rape crisis counselor is especially odious. For her part, Ani reads a bit like a Manic Pixie Dream Girl; and, in his insistence that she's not like "other girls" - a special snowflake - Ben puts down the rest of girldom as frivolous, manipulative sluts.

(That said, it's impossible not to empathize with Ani in the wake of the rape, bullying, and - hopefully - recovery.)

Of course, one could argue that the behavior and attitudes displayed by Ben, while sometimes obnoxious, are also realistic. And this may be true - but it doesn't make them any less troublesome. This is why I wish Desir had given Ani a voice as well. Even just a chapter or two told from Ani's perspective might have served to temper the (unintentional) sexism and (downright hostile) ignorance displayed by her boyfriend. Or she might have shown Ben greater pushback from the women in Ani's life. On the contrary: Kate, who usually serves as a counter to Ben, sometimes engages in victim-blaming as well.

It seems like, in trying to capture the realities of modern teens, Desir sometimes reinforces the very rape culture she set out to critique. Or at least lets it off a little too easily.

A solid 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 on Amazon and Goodreads. Fault Line has the best of intentions, but doesn't always deliver on them.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/08/25/fault-line-by-c-desir/ ( )

Before I even start with this review, I want to forewarn you that this story is not pretty. It’s ugly, dark and the cold hard truth. If you do not like rape stories, especially ones that are graphic and dark, I suggest you take care when you read this.

Once upon a time, I was college and met this girl. Let’s call her A. She was fun, free and loud. One night at a party something went wrong and she was never the same. After that, she didn’t seem to care about anything. All she wanted to do was party hard and harder. People started to talk about her and she didn’t even bat an eye. She told me that she was pregnant, had an abortion and went to party again. Only to call me a few weeks later, saying that she might be pregnant again and needed to borrow money from me for another abortion. I put my foot down and talked to her. She didn’t like what I had to say and stop being my friend. I felt like I lost and had no idea what to do to help her. After years of destroying herself, her body and her soul, she finally came clean. We became friends again but it wasn’t the same.

What Fault Line reads is true. And unfortunately I lived through that exact thing with my friend. Every minute of every day she destroyed everything. She took blame in for what happen to her and carried it around everywhere. No matter what I said to her, to no avail would she listen. I thank God that she did eventually got the help that she needed but it took years.

What I want to say is that many people may not like this story and the pictures it paints. But guess what? We live in a REAL WORLD, with ugly people. This stuff happens FOR REAL. People self-destruct and it not only hurts them but hurts others around them. Not everything occurs just like the story but each victim has their own story to tell and their own heartache to go through.

So when you read this story, think about the girls and boys who go through this. Who hide everything inside just to live. Who live with this darkness that they can not get rid of no matter how hard they push it aside. It’s takes months…years of help to get even an ounce of some normalcy.

In short, this book is good…really good. I swear it was like I was living my Freshmen year all over again. It made me cry and it made me angry that I didn’t do more for A. Read it. ( )

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Ordinarily, I go into books, particularly new releases, knowing next to nothing about them. I don’t read reviews or even blurbs. In this case, I made an exception, because of the fascinatingly wide divide in opinions in the early reviews. April (Good Books and Wine) was the first to read and review Fault Line among the bloggers I know. She gave it four stars. Then Giselle (Xpresso Reads) and Jenni (Alluring Reads) read it and hated pretty much everything about it. Steph (Cuddlebuggery) decided to bump it up her TBR to find out what was going on and really liked it. Obviously, this book is divisive and invites strong reactions. I mention this context because I went into this book from a different perspective, having heard feedback from these various people and with an eye out for detail. That said, read closely and with my mind on the issues that were coming, C. Desir’s Fault Line is a starkly honest portrayal of the emotional, physical, interpersonal, legal, and medical difficulties presented in discovering the truth of what happened in a rape case.

Read the full review at A Reader of Fictions. ( )