Click Click

by Joyce Kavanagh, June Kavanagh, Paula Kavanagh

Joyce, June and Paula Kavanagh were three sisters born to a family of ten in Ballyfermot, Dublin in the 1960s. Their father abused all three of them in the family home throughout their childhood. In 1989, the sisters made the brave decision to bring charges against their father and, in 1990, the state took a successful case against him.
He was convicted and imprisoned. Click, Click is the story of their abuse; the exposure of a man prolific in his paedophilia; and an Irish childhood lost in a dysfunctional, abusive and torturous environment. Importantly, however, it is also the story of three women's healing; their coming to terms with their abuse, and their forgiveness of themselves and others.

The Kavanagh sisters have refused to allow their abuse to define them. With fierce humour, insight and honesty, they now share their story and show that with love and determination, you can indeed conquer all.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

What to say about this book? I can hardly say I enjoyed it but I am certainly glad I read it. The story of the three Dublin Kavanagh women who successfully had their father prosecuted for rape of each of them from the ages of 5 or 6 till their teens. A fourth daughter was also abused but not as severely. The title refers to his habit of clicking his fingers to summon whichever of them he intended to rape. Their decision to go to the police was in part due to Oprah Winfrey's program and in part because he had begun abusing the next generation. Both unbelievable and totally believable at the same time. Not a read for everyone though.

[Kym Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wine and cigarettes leitmotif running through this gut-wrenching account of an evilly-indulgent father is welcome comfort even for abstainers. The father’s belief in his right to steal/break/devour his daughters’ innocence is beyond belief. Yet he did not take their souls – and this is the ‘gold’ threading love,hope,trust,courage throughout this book – all the good and shining human things. A thread to which this reader held onto whilst turning the pages which described one horror after another. The horrors never lose their power, one is never immune to the sickening shock. During a recent BBC Radio 4 interview, one of the sisters remarked they were all concerned the explicit detail of the sexual abuse by their monster father would invite (and excite) paedophiles - a concern I experienced whilst writing a novel about the guilt of an abused child. Though my account was no more than a page, it was the hardest part of the book to write and I put it off until the end, leaving a blank page in my manuscript until I could face it. Imagining was bad enough, the reality of the girls’ repeated suffering is unimaginable. However, my writing experience was a breeze compared to the storm-dark tempest-strength victimisation described in Click Click. The power of this factual account is its ultimately heartening honesty told plainly and simply - the truth which every abused child is too scared, too scarred to tell, the terrible but necessary truth.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tragic story with every admiration for the sisters

[Mel Chapman]

A very difficult, challenging read. Wonderful to see that out of the experience of writing, the sisters have worked through many issues and ultimately found each other.

[Heba Samy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is really hard to read such book. The story about the pain and the abuse is intolerable. These three sisters are really brave and how they managed to go through all of this and to make something out of themselves , to have successful lives and families is amazing. Can only imagine how hard it was to accept themselves , cope with the abuse and the truth about their own mother knowledge of it and go through the healing process is miraculous. I really pity their mum in a way as I can only imagine how she handled such a husband yet I have to blame her in someway for not sticking to her motherly intuition to protect her kids , yet who I am to judge. No one can ever deal with such circumstances safely and sanely.
The only drawback from my perspective , I got a little lost between the names and the events but their try to put such a book is outstanding

[Noreen Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Difficult but worthwhile reading. Written in conversational style, 3 Dublin sisters bravely and frankly detail their horrific childhoods at the mercy of their abusive father. Their fathers'cruelty disabled the siblings ability to bond with each other until adulthood gave them the strength and courage to publically document their experiences.
Author Marian Quinn genuinely bonds with the sisters and immersed herself in their story to facilitate this well produced book. It is clear Marian and the Kavanagh sisters experienced a spectrum of emotions throughout their process and relief comes from knowing the strength the sisters have got from publishing their experiences. (And that they were finally able bring their father to justice!)

[A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is hard to rate these kind of books because you cannot really 'rate' someone's life experiences. However, based on the actual writing format and style, I give this book a 2. I feel like a lot of instances were repeated, such as emphasis on the women smoking and drinking tea constantly, and plenty of other 'fill in' moments. I was shocked that three sisters could go through such an ordeal and not open up to each other about it; such is the nature of abuse. It is a horrible account of father-daughter abuse but it is good as well because the girls finally got closure they desperately needed.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very hard book to read, it doesn’t seem possible that a father would do the amount of abuse to his daughters as this one did. Glad I read it although it was very intense at times, and I totally felt for the very young girls who it was happening to. I wonder if you ever totally get over it, although it would seem that these women have worked extremely hard to put it behind them. I wish them all the very best for the future.

[Sandra Kinnear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book I am nearly finished it...very sad story of how a Dad uses his power to control and abuse his children for his personal use.....they are three very brave ladies to have published this book I hope it helped them come to terms with what happened to them...

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

These women are so strong and brave, what they endured was disgusting. However, the book was not for me. Why? More here http://themelican.blogspot.co.uk/2013...

[Jenni Garratt* · Rating 4 out of 5]

A harrowing story of 3 sisters who have an extraordinary inner strength to become whom they have today & reclaim their lives. Sometimes a little hard to follow as jumps from sister to sister & great time spans in between. Overall a compelling read!

[Rachel Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't really enjoy it, I should stop reading books just because they are on best-seller list. The style of writing with the narration really began to annoy me by the end (sorry!)

[Marion · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brave novel, but harrowing to read, and I felt relieved when I got to the end. Leaves you with respect for what some kids go through and how they can still turn in to decent adults.

[Melanie Wight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great read. Really showed the dynamics of sisters. However I found the switching between the sisters stories confusing

[Cornelius Gunning · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Harrowing insight into the horrible fate these poor girls and family suffered at the hands of their father. A must read.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so sad to read knowing that it was all true. Interesting to see how the women had progressed and moved on, but not a light read.

[Pamela Dobinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good book. What them girls went through. And 2 see justice done.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

So moving, and well written given that the author had to gel together three different versions from each sister. Heart wrenching but a god read.

[Bookworm86 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book but can be bit confusing with name and dates going back and forth. x

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very intense and not appropriate for everyone as it can be difficult to stomach.

[Mary Monks · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a heart-wrenching book this is.
It is the true story of 3 Irish sisters who were systematically sexually abused by their father from the time of their First Communion.
The "Click, Click" of the title is what the father did to call them.
He would click his fingers and call the name of the "chosen" child.

[Tania Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

sometimes some pages are hard to read because of the brutal and non-sense assault to these girls... I felt impotent and frustrated at some points reading this book..

[Lisa Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written book with detailed memories of a horrific childhood, it’s so sad and as a result makes the reader cry too. Well worth a read.

[Blanca Ojeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es mas un 3.5

Click Click es la historia de 3 hermanitas que desde los 6 años aproximadamente comenzaron a ser abusadas sexualmente por su padre. La historia es contada por ellas mismas cuando ya eran adultas y decidieron escribir el libro como simbolo de ayuda a personas con su misma historia, para que lo superen, denuncien y sepan que hay vida después de esa amarga niñez.

En cuanto al libro, es una historia interesante que de comienzo me tuvo enganchada y hasta sentí la angustia de las niñas. Pero después de la tercera parte viene un relleno que aburre un poco. Después se compone otravez y así......en fin, considero que le sobran una buena cantidad de páginas y una que otra historia por ahí en el medio.

Desafortunadamente es una historia de la vida real ocurrida en los años 70, pero que indudablemente se ha repetido a lo largo de los últimos tiempos sin cesar.

Escogí esta historia porque encontré el libro en Ingles y a buen precio 😊 Por aquello de practicar el ingles. 😀. Medianamente fácil de leer en este idioma.