Read Yes
Length 384
Quick Review A novel that will stay with you as it explores the intricacies of sexual assault from several points of view.
I’m not going to review this book like I normally would. In my teen and adult years, I was raped. For me, this book struck some nerves hitting close to home because there were several similarities between my story and this one. I will be doing two reviews as an unbiased reviewer and a personal review.
Unbiased
Putney by Sofka Zinovieff is an incredibly interesting look into the psyches and motivations behind predators, victims, and observers in cases of sexual abuse. Dividing the book into three perspectives brings the reader into the complexities of these situations because they are never cut-and-dry.
Ralph is a young, up-and-coming composer in London in the mid-1970’s when he enters the Greenslay and meets the seven year old daughter, Daphne. He is immediately taken by her, but not in a pedophile way. He loves her. Beginning a secret friendship with her, it evolves over time until one day, when she’s thirteen: a young woman. Daphne is now a grown woman with a twelve year old daughter when she returns to London. She reconnects with her childhood friend, Jane. Daphne had been through a marriage, drugs, loss, and more in her time away, but her life is better, and she begins reflecting on her love affair with Ralph. Jane is sickened by her friend’s remembrances, and pushes Daphne to see what obviously happened in the past. The three embark on personal journeys of discovery, healing, and more on their own and together.
Zinovieff does a remarkable job writing a compelling story from all sides. Although, I don’t really like any of the characters, they are rounded, complex, and interesting. Ralph, though a disgusting old pedophile, is presented as captivating character, which makes the story far more realistic. Daphne is a mess with a whole bunch of inner turmoil. Honestly, I hated Jane from the get-go, but her character fulfills a needed role within the plot.
The writing is wonderful. It feels like an accessible Lolita, which I enjoyed very much. The book utilizes British spelling instead of American, which matches the content nicely. Putney is difficult to put down once you start reading.
Personal
I don’t have any problem reading books about rape. It’s not a trigger for me. I spent too much of my life having it be a part of my norm, and – in a fucked up way – reading about it is incredibly cathartic.
So much of Putney irritated me. Ralph is an asshole. I very much appreciated his misogynistic, arrogant, egotistical ways. I wish all rapists were so dislikable. Jane pissed me off the more I knew of her story. For as much as she researches sexual abuse, she handles it all wrong. She is the exact opposite of what Daphne needs; she puts her own needs ahead of the “victims.” Daphne was not exactly my favorite, but I could understand her journey.
There were a lot of really well done things about the novel. Although, I found a lot of the parts including the police completely idealistic. I don’t know anyone who has ever involved the police to have had such an easy and non traumatic experience. The healing journey was ridiculously easy in comparison to reality.
I appreciated the ending, but I didn’t love it. The ending isn’t happy, but it’s much happier and wraps up nicely. It kind of feels like Zinovieff wraps it all up with a nice bow to make an uncomfortable topic palatable.
Memorable Quotes
“I wasn’t some Humbert Humbert obsessed with nymphets.”
“Now the trauma was not only hers.”
Title: Putney
Author: Sofka Zinovieff
Publisher: Harper
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9780062847577
