Official Review: Don't Hit Me! by Vanessa de Largie

L_Therese · Post by **L_Therese** » 25 May 2014, 20:16

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Don't Hit Me!" by Vanessa de Largie.]

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Domestic violence is an ugly elephant in the room for a lot of people. It’s more common than most people think, and its effects are both poisonous and dangerous. In Don’t Hit Me!, Vanessa de Largie offers the world a brief peek into the hidden world of domestic violence so that others can witness the nightmare that so many people live daily.

The first thing a prospective reader should know about this book is that it is no easy read. Although brief, it treats intimately with a very sensitive subject and never shies away from it. Ms. de Largie brings raw emotion to her writing, exposing everything in what must have been a profound act of bravery. The book addresses themes of shame, pain, loneliness, frustration, rage, hatred, suicide, sex, and abuse. It serves as a window through which people everywhere can learn how an abusive relationship torments and entraps the victim, making it both imperative and next-to-impossible to escape.

The second thing a prospective reader should know is that this is a non-traditional book. Rather than a story or a memoir, this book is instead divided into many short sections that I can best describe as poems, though many are similar to vignettes. Some tell directly of an event or a conversation, but some are merely expressions of emotion. It is an experience of entering into someone’s thought process for a brief time. Sometimes there is a narrative, though extremely abbreviated, but much of the time the section is poetry, replete with images, metaphor, and emotion. For the poetry lover, it is brilliant.

I’d like to say that everyone should read this book because if enough people vicariously experience humanity’s brokenness, we might be able to help fix it. However, I am a realist at times, and I see the limitations. Because violence and abuse are so prevalent, there will be many readers for whom it is a sensitive subject, and only they know whether such a testimony as this will help or hurt them. What is more, I know that the literary style employed by Ms. de Largie will not always be able to speak so powerfully to every reader. It is impossible to reach everyone through one medium, but I would encourage readers to at least consider this book.

As such, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. For anyone who is willing and able to put him/herself into another’s shoes, Ms. de Largie brilliantly uses pain and emotion to draw the reader into her world very briefly. In her own words, “Experience my experience. Be me.” (“Dis-ease”, Don’t Hit Me!)

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