Mike Link

Extremely close-to-home subjects for many people, but this book was a great read. I had a hard time reading the mind of a pedophile and even harder reading the struggles of the victims, but it's a worthy read.

Michael Link's book Inviolate addresses the issues of sexual assault, rape and the after-effects of such acts of violence. The book follows the parallel and intertwining stories of victim and perpetrator, and of those people around them. It shows how the destruction of innocence, wrought upon the young disrupts the lives not only of the victims themselves, but on the ones who care about them, and the friends they make later in life. Effects that never really go away.

The book is a work of show more fiction which, at times, reads rather like memoirs. The uneasy fusion of the two styles, I believe, helps in this instance to underline the subject matter and the importance of addressing these issues in our society. The style at once draws us into these people's lives and stories, and yet gives us a certain distance - enough at least to be analytical as we read. That is not to say the book doesn't engage the reader emotionally - far from it - but it does not allow complacency or the 'it's just a story' reaction that would have disempowered the message of the book.

The book is well written, the language choices made are appropriate, and way the story flows through the different parts of the book and the different chapters makes for an compelling and engaging read. show less

First, I have to warn that if you were the victim of sexual abuse, this book will likely trigger bad memories, so you may want to stay away. This was a hard read on several levels. It is split into 5 sections. The first is about a young girl who is molested. The second is about a young girl who is raped. The third section covers a precocious young woman and a much older man. The fourth section is about a man who pursues a woman the correct way, and the final section wraps up most character show more story lines.

Let's start with what I liked. I liked that it was very clearly delineated what kind of behaviors were wrong. Also, blame was never placed on the victims. Even in the third section about Tiffany, the older man Alan clearly took responsibility for his actions. The rape victim sought help from her clergy and a mental health professional. Alan sought help also. Both these people were able to take positive steps forward, and I like the message this sends. It is important to seek help for all aspects of your life.

Now for what I didn't like. I felt the pacing was uneven. At times it seemed like the plot ran forward like an Olympic sprinter, and then there were times where it seemed to meander along with no direction. The dialogue felt equally unequal. There were parts that seemed very realistic, and then large sections of dialogue with no contractions at all. This made it seem very formal and stiff. This also lead to a clinical feel to some of the story. I often felt no emotional attachment to the characters, although considering what they all went through this might have been a good thing. At times I felt like I was reading a text book, because it all felt so formal.

There were no euphemisms used when describing things, just the correct anatomical terms. I like this approach, because I think it's important to not try and lighten the impact of actions with cutesy terms. However, when reading it, it does seem very graphic. The language is also strong but realistic. This is not a book for young people though. There were a couple plots points I found strange or unrealistic. I realize the girl in the third section was meant to be unusually mature for her age, but she seemed a bit too precocious to me. Also, one character had a bizarre obsession with dating girls who are virgins. This weirded me out a lot. The plot line with the rapist wasn't really wrapped up as well as I would like. I also found the ending to be a bit creepy.

Overall, I feel that there are some good messages in this book. It is worth a read, but don't expect a fully polished, emotional book. It can be very harsh and cold, which is sometimes fitting to the subject matter. In the end though, it left me feeling rather flat.

Copy of this book won on a book website. show less

I won this book from Library Thing's Member Giveaways.

This book is very dark at times, but also very interesting. It delves into pedophilia from both the victim's aspect as well as from the pedophiliac's point of view.

There are two characters who are depicted as pedophiliacs in this book and the history of the events leading to their crimes are explained, from innocent encounters to rape itself. The first evolved pedophilac is a high school teenage boy who at first innocently explores sex show more with a girl much younger than himself, which evolves into him raping one girl and one woman. This book does not go into detail of the rapes, which I was very glad of, but does give a picture of what transpires in the victim's mind during the rapes. The second character who is depicted as a pedophiliac is a 21 year old college student, who innocently falls for a very precocious twelve year old girl in his apartment building. At first he sees himself as a friend and mentor to this girl, but soon realizes that he has feelings for this girl who seems much older for her age. This girl takes liberties at seducing him and succeeds in kissing him and asks him to take her picture in the nude in a tasteful way. He knows this is wrong, but cannot stop himself from doing this. Soon after, the girl and her mother move away and he doesn't see her again until years later.

This book depicts pedophilia from two opposite ends of the spectrum and goes into the victim's lives and shows the years of recovery that takes place after a violent rape in the first scenario and also looks at the "pedophiliac's" recovery of his own guilt, knowing that what he did crossed moral boundaries and how it affected his own life.

This is a good book, interesting and thought provoking and I would recommend it to those who don't mind reading about dark subject material and looking at pedophilia from a developmental aspect and how it affects all parties involved. show less