This was a strange one. For me, strange does not necessarily mean bad, but there were parts of this book that were bad. Not badly written, just... bad feeling. This is a synaesthetic experience of a read - it's sticky and uncomfortable and hot and salty and itchy, sand-in-the-bathing-suit-bottoms uncomfortable. Myra - the teenaged protagonist on vacation with her family - is not an easy character to like. She's selfish and out-of-body; she acts like an adult woman sometimes, and so I was often thrown for a loop. There are questions of liability, legality, and moral rightness (or wrongness) at play here, too, which become more evident as Myra's raging (the term "blossoming" is so grossly incorrect here) sexuality bursts forth from her and she pursues the (much older) man of her (bad) dreams. At the same time, Berger is tapping into a side of sexuality that women don't often acknowledge - outside of or within themselves. The angry, sticky, humiliated, corporeal side. I don't mind reading a book and finishing feeling disquieted, and that's what happened here. I'm about 3/4 of the way through this book and can't. take. anymore. I am so confused about which stance this book is taking and the characters are soooo unlikeable. It's rare that there isn't one single character in a book that you like/route for. Half the time I feel like this book is trying to portray a feminist or anti-slavery message and the other half I feel like it is trying to support abuse, slavery AND racisim. I can't decide if I should be disgusted or if the content is just over my head. I am definitely not a prude (I have read my fair share of erotica and am not anti-porn either), but I do have a problem with a book not being able to decide if it is erotic or a self-righteous story about a young girl. I also feel like this author is trying to justify the main characters actions due to her being a confused teen going through a lot in her life, but there is a BIG difference between acting out sexually (or BDSM even) and being abused. This book reads like a bad case of molestation and abuse, yet it tries to make that ok... while peppering in some third person feminist commentary once in a while (I guess to please the feminists). So weird and poorly executed imo.
What do You think about Intacta (2013)?
read 7 april 2012 review in Vancouver Sun. looks intriguing. never read any of her work before.
—Maricris
I can see why this worked for other people, but it didn't work for me.
—Dannyee
Not 1 star...0 stars. I can't even review this, it was TOO awful.
—jimenez18
