(no subject)

[seriousfic]

Hey, I'm looking to write a book with a character who was abused as a child and I wondering if there are any books or movies y'all know of that are particularly realistic about the aftereffects of that sort of thing. Because I don't want to be "Well, here's a random character, how can I add pathos? I know, CHILD ABUSE! La la, MAN-PAIN!"

Comments

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

The very best of the three recommendations is, ironically for me, the one that isn't a Two-Face story: The Child Within from DeMatteis' run on Spectacular Spider-Man. This is a better, more general look at the after-effects of abuse as displayed through the character of Vermin. Similar to Eye of the Beholder, it explores how the love for the abuser coupled with self-loathing and rage can split a person apart into adulthood. DeMatteis explores this through both Vermin and Harry Osborn (this is the story that directly led to Harry's eventual death), and while neither are not realistic characters, DeMatteis' treatment of abuse can only be described as "raw." It's a gut-wrenching read, and the best look at abuse that I've ever seen in any medium. But then, I like my realism expressed through the fantastic.

To bring this all full circle, the last recommendation is Two-Face: Crime and Punishment, also written by DeMatteis. He draws upon the same themes he used for Vermin and Harry, as well as building upon Eye of the Beholder, while getting rid of the "game" aspect, which I don't like but helps make it more understandable and less specific. The result is a story which is weaker than both previous stories, but is still a powerful and noteworthy metaphor for the long-lasting scars left by abuse.

[mcity.livejournal.com]

Was the kid in the sewer actually real, or was it just Vermin's hallucination of himself as a child?

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Just a hallucination. I couldn't include more scans of that, sadly. And even then, in the context of the story, JMD never makes a big reveal about it either way. You're just supposed to figure it out on your own. I kinda like that. By the time you realize that the child is a hallucination of himself, the story's already progressed so far that the "twist" is moot.