Bailey answers “What do you think of Ray and his...”

Dua asked this question about White Oleander:

What do you think of Ray and his relationship with Astrid?

Bailey It's troubling to me because it is such an unequal relationship in age and experience. It is abuse and inexcusable on Ray's part but I see the value i…moreIt's troubling to me because it is such an unequal relationship in age and experience. It is abuse and inexcusable on Ray's part but I see the value in exploring this as part of the story.

I think a huge part of the book is about Astrid trying to find her identity without her mother. She needs a coping mechanisms and she's flying around the place trying to anchor onto something. First it's Starr and the church, then Ray and sex and after him it becomes Olivia and so on. In all of this flitting around, Astrid has no compass to gauge whether the people she attaches herself to are worthy or it, she just likes the attention she never got from her mother.

As a reader, I didn't like or approve of the idea of an innocent Astrid suddenly asking for sex from this older man. I also didn't like that he wasn't a good enough man to refuse her but I believe that is the dirty reality Fitch is trying to portray. (less)

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