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horrorbutch 's review for:
Rebel Without a Clue: A Memoir
by Janet Green
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
First off I want to give you a little warning. The book deals with a bunch of heavy topics, such as child sexual abuse & incest, rape, drug abuse, child abuse, anti-semitism (a tiny bit), abortion and abusive relationships.
A brutally honest memoir about growing up as a jewish lesbian in the 1950s.
Janet's life was never easy. The youngest of six children, she always had to wear Hand-me-Downs, her oldest sister was more of a mother to her than her real mother. Still her mother held a firm grip on her family and even beat her children at times. When her father died her mother got a lobotomy to deal with her depression and afterwards her family life was a bit calmer. Even though she isn't religious, she is still "visible" jewish and has to deal with anti-semitic remarks. She was assaulted when she was 14 and often coerced into sex or outright raped afterwards.
Around 19 she figures out that she might not be entirely straight and goes to sex clubs to at least get the chance to be intimate with women.
The book is very descriptive, which made it at points hard for me to read,but I adored the honesty. I also always enjoy to learn more about LGBT history.
While the writing style is not very prosaic or anything, it feels real and I enjoyed the book. It's a quick read, but a hard one and I had to take a couple of breaks to deal with all the things that were happening.
All in all the book was very shocking at times, but I honestly admire Janet for being that open. It was a challenging read, but I enjoyed it and I feel incredible happy that Janet is doing better now. I also admire her strength, especially since she went on to work with HIV positive people in the UK, which surely was no easy job.
Why I read it: A memoir about a lesbian growing up during the 1950s? Sounds interesting!
Do I recommend it: If you enjoy biographies/memoirs and are not sensitive to any of the triggers mentioned above yes.
Review crossposted to my blog here
First off I want to give you a little warning. The book deals with a bunch of heavy topics, such as child sexual abuse & incest, rape, drug abuse, child abuse, anti-semitism (a tiny bit), abortion and abusive relationships.
A brutally honest memoir about growing up as a jewish lesbian in the 1950s.
Janet's life was never easy. The youngest of six children, she always had to wear Hand-me-Downs, her oldest sister was more of a mother to her than her real mother. Still her mother held a firm grip on her family and even beat her children at times. When her father died her mother got a lobotomy to deal with her depression and afterwards her family life was a bit calmer. Even though she isn't religious, she is still "visible" jewish and has to deal with anti-semitic remarks. She was assaulted when she was 14 and often coerced into sex or outright raped afterwards.
Around 19 she figures out that she might not be entirely straight and goes to sex clubs to at least get the chance to be intimate with women.
The book is very descriptive, which made it at points hard for me to read,but I adored the honesty. I also always enjoy to learn more about LGBT history.
While the writing style is not very prosaic or anything, it feels real and I enjoyed the book. It's a quick read, but a hard one and I had to take a couple of breaks to deal with all the things that were happening.
All in all the book was very shocking at times, but I honestly admire Janet for being that open. It was a challenging read, but I enjoyed it and I feel incredible happy that Janet is doing better now. I also admire her strength, especially since she went on to work with HIV positive people in the UK, which surely was no easy job.
Why I read it: A memoir about a lesbian growing up during the 1950s? Sounds interesting!
Do I recommend it: If you enjoy biographies/memoirs and are not sensitive to any of the triggers mentioned above yes.
Review crossposted to my blog here