A strange lack of understanding of rape

**GNTLGNT** · February 8th, 2011

I have never been raped, nor can I begin to imagine the aftermath of such a loathsome occurance. Connie, your post was outstanding. That kind of heinous act has to devestate on so many levels, but to damn King for being "flat"? My skin literally crawled-his story nauseated me, but at the same time was a great read about a terrible subject...that's all it was, a story-and I never felt it was supposed to be a treatise on rape...I'm sorry Phoenix, I'm in the "pro" King camp here..no offense intended...

**staropeace** · February 8th, 2011

I have never been raped ...but abused and beaten, yes. Not only was a victim, but, I worked with clients who went through the experience...and there is no book of etiquette on how rape victims should feel. Folks behave differently because they have different coping tools.

**Connie Reader** · February 8th, 2011

Originally Posted by Sigmund

It was a difficult read. It made me feel her horror, pain, doubt, anger, sadness, regret, vengence, second-guessing, what-if-thinking ...all the gamut of emotions roller-coasting from second to second, situation to situation. That story was a punch to the throat. I loved it. The entire book in fact.
Just my two cents.

a punch to the throat, good way to describe it. I felt like I was holding my breath through the whole story.

**Becks19** · February 8th, 2011

I thought it was a pretty accurate description of what a woman would do "if" she didn't want to bear the stigma of being raped. I am not sure what the numbers are but, there are estimations of how many rapes go unreported per year. My Sister was raped when she was 17 and left for dead. ( pretty similar to Tess) I gave her my copy of FDNS because I felt it would be cathartic for her to read about a woman who turned the tables....She liked the book so much I haven't gotten it back.

**Haunted** · February 8th, 2011

Originally Posted by Connie Reader

Well, the story itself wasn't so much focused on the rape so much as the resulting revenge.
I was raped when I was a teenager and although this is something that happens to way too many women, every experience is as different as the women it happens to. The woman in the story was focused on her reputation as a writer and not wanting to be labeled "the raped writer" and the resulting attention that would bring even if it meant she might sell more books or get more press. That seemed pretty real to me. I don't think he was trying to get deep inside her brain as far as the trauma from the rape. It seemed to me the story was more about payback and from someone who never got to confront her rapist and who chose to bury the pain, I was really invested in this story and did shed a few cathartic tears reading it.

I was raped when I was a teenager

**Haunted** · February 8th, 2011

Originally Posted by Moderator

You've both had your say. If you have more to say to each other about this, please do so outside of the thread. Only comments on the thread topic here from now on, please.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, Dear Ms. Mod.

**Haunted** · February 8th, 2011

Originally Posted by Mookie

I thought it was a pretty accurate description of what a woman would do "if" she didn't want to bear the stigma of being raped. I am not sure what the numbers are but, there are estimations of how many rapes go unreported per year. My Sister was raped when she was 17 and left for dead. ( pretty similar to Tess) I gave her my copy of FDNS because I felt it would be cathartic for her to read about a woman who turned the tables....She liked the book so much I haven't gotten it back.

My Sister was raped

**Haunted** · February 8th, 2011

Although the lady author was brutally violated at the start this story, for me, it was that she sought revenge against the monster(s) not only for herself but for the other women/girls whose bodies she found and to prevent any further horrible acts of violence upon other women.

I am not sure whether any person, male or female, could take up a pen and describe a scene of rape that rings true without having experienced it themselves.

**doc_hall81** · February 8th, 2011

Never been raped here either, but i must say that story definitely played almost all of my emotions. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Let's not forget is wasn't just about the rape, also the fact that he thought she was dead. In his mind he had killed her, and he actually killed all the other women in the pipe. i just might come back at someone if they thought they killed me too.

**JayneH** · February 8th, 2011

Isnt it funny how we all interprete a story .... I saw this as a woman who was totally in shock after the ordeal and after cowering and trying to cover up that it happened at all ... decided that exacting her revenge would be the only way to go forward. At the end of the story I imagined that she would only then deal with the rape itself and start her healing process.

I suppose to me it shows how good a writer is ... when I can imagine her life after the book has finished.