To hate reading books about child abuse?

[DarlingDuck]

I mean the autobiographical books. I imagine it's a good form of therapy for the writer and could be helpful to others who read it and have been through similar situations but I find them gut wrenching and haunting and cannot imagine why someone would want to read a book detailing abuse, is this an unreasonable reaction?

I wouldn't read misery lit, mainly because I have to read about abuse and abusers for my degree, that's hard work enough without reading something in 'my time'.

YANBU. I wouldn't spend days of my life reading misery lit, and can't imagine why anyone would.

I'm another who would read anything ANYTHING else besides these.

I imagine that if my MIL ever read, this is what she would read. Loves a lot bit of drama in her life and is happy to borrow others experiences to lament.

Yep, don't understand why people do tbh.

They might find it cathartic to write it, doesn't mean we should read it.

YABU because you are not really asking if you are being unreasonable.

"AIBU to prefer sci-fi to crime?"

You see, telling people your genre preferences is not AIBU.

They're not what I pick off the shelves, I read to escape reality. I've read a few that are beautifully written and not just 300 pages of pain.

Not my thing, but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with them.

disappointed, thought OP might have to review or publish these books or something

I knew someone who had loads and loads and loads of them, it disturbed me even though she claimed to enjoy tales of people overcoming adversity and human resilience and stuff like that they all seemed a bit porny to me

then dont read them
simple

I hate the concept, so have never read them. Just walk away!!

i have read a 'child called it' and 'the kid'. all very disturbing i steer clear of books of that genre. i recently read a book about a gypsy boy and it wasn't based on child abuse but his life growing up as a gay gypsy boy. there very graphic details of sexual abuse which really upset me and made me feel sick. i did wander why there was a need to put such graphic detailing almost like a porn mag.
the book was a good book apart from those graphic parts. i really didn't expect to read that and it was disturbing.
i agree it probably was therapeutic for the author to write down his experiences but was it really necessary to write it in such a smutty context. or was it to boost sales as it was so gory!

So many of these so called "autobiographical" books have been challenged in their authenticity that it makes me wonder how many of them are actually true, or just an embellishment of the authors imagination. The bandwagon for these type of books is huge and the amount of detail that some people can recall from such an early age is hard to believe.

Its the very reason I dont read many womens magazines now. have you seen the headlines on their pages? Not enjoyable at all.

www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0752226738/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar

I love the 1 star review- "There is no clue on the cover or back page to suggest that this is anything other than an honest tale of a harrowing life."

It's called "My godawful life" and on the cover it reads, "Abandoned. Betrayed. Stuck to the Window."

www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0752226738/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar

sorry forgot to convery the link

heh, I like this bit

" I feel that the author has acted appallingly in writing this book. He clearly feels that those who make money from selling their stories are worthy of mocking (perhaps he has a point)"

poor reader though, unexpectedly having to cope with something funny instead of the hoped for stimulation of someone else's actual pain - or they hope it is, not quite so thrilling if it's not a true story is it?

I have banged on about these vile books on many a mumsnet thread. I think they are absolutely marketed to titilate and be voyeuristic.

Tragic lives my arse. I think they are a disgrace to publishing.

I feel sorry for any authors who get pulled along in this - I can imagine the editors of such books speaking to the author and asking 'let's have a little more detail in that bit'.

I judge the people who read these books as being absoluelty as thick as shit (can you hear me, mother).

Someone on one of these threads made me roar with laughter some time ago in a rant against them - we were thinking of comedy names for misery lit books and she came up with the gem 'Tuppence for a gob job on Shit Street'

I have only read one American one, many years ago, which was interesting and showed the gaps in the system and the law, as much as focused on the abuse, abit like the film/book Monster.

I thought that this was a good thing as most people thought that the system for dealing with child abuse was adequate.

I don't think that some people realised how bad child abuse could be, or that it could be happening next door.

I have read nearly every bit of true literature on the holocaust and the death/concentration camps, though, which some would say 'was sick', to do,also.

There seems to be a need by people who have gone through trauma to tell their stories, rather than them be hidden.

Rather than the book stands be called 'tragic or miserable lives', i would like them to be more positive names, such as 'survivors stories', etc.