Review: A dark read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 1, 2014
I spent a long time after reading this book just thinking about it and the emotions it evoked in me.  To say that I liked or enjoyed it would not be right.  It stretched my thoughts and emotions far beyond what I'm used to.  This is a book that you will either hate with a passion or you will get sucked into its depraved story.  It will shock you and confound you.  It will seriously make you think about convention and challenge your perceptions of the characters.  The issues it tackles doesn't may for easy or comfortable reading.  It is in fact difficult to get your mind fully around the experiences and characters in the book.  But lets make one thing clear: there is no glamorisation of any of the issues.  It is stark, brutal, cold and dark.  Dawn Robertson and Lily White do not spare you from every brutal detail and this is needed to understand the scale of the issues faced by the characters.Eleni is an alcoholic, drinking her way to oblivion to escape the mess of her parents and the drug addiction that led to their death.  Neglected and abused by them, she hides her destructive behaviour by being the fun girl.  She just wants to escape the demons haunting her.Gabriel is a recluse, hiding himself away and his physical and emotional scars from the world.  He has witnessed first hand the results of addiction that resulted in his parents' death and nearly his own.  When he witnesses Eleni's destructive behaviour, he sets out to save her.  His method of saving her is violent, terrifying and depraved.The terrifying results of addiction are plain to see, as are the results of neglect and abuse in Eleni who sees herself as having absolutely no self worth.  Contrasted with Gabriel's fascination with her and belief that she can be beautiful but is repulsed by her reliance on alcohol makes for explosive combination.  Their relationship is volatile and very violent; it has tender moments and vile moments; it has hard lessons for us to understand.  There is no emphasis on acceptance of their relationship but focuses on its stark, brutal and destructive nature.I felt abhorrence for the things that Gabriel did and revulsion for Eleni's acceptance.  I felt sad at the hands that life had dealt them both and for the choices that had been made for them.  While there was lots of violence, there were equal amounts of tenderness poking through from both Eleni and Gabriel and with that came hope for them.  And that was the emotion that I came out with the strongest feeling towards: hope.