Divine-Asia
asked:
Is anyone else having a hard time reading Tampa? I read Nolita and it never felt as icky as this novel. I constantly have to put it down for long periods of time to recover from the graphic sexual details of the main characters desire for teenage boys.
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Furciferous Quaintrelle Bex
The great thing about books is that we can allow ourselves to examine dconcepts & ideas that we don't necessarily like or agree with, via a kind of thought experiment. Never worry about what others will think of you for reading it...you've probably read about Doodlebugs, Dunkirk & the US dropping the a-bomb on Hiroshima, as part of your history class at school. Wanting to know about the damage it did, the fallout it created or the size of the death toll, doesn't make you some kind of voyeur. Nor does it make you someone who is likely to go out and create a bomb yourself for the sole purpose of hurting people.
You can examine a contentious issue, with or without uncomfortable prose, without it being something you feel affiliated with. These books are always going to raise hackles because of the illegality and taboo nature of the topic, but it doesn't mean that they shouldn't exist and we shouldn't be curious about it.
The actual number of female sex offenders out there is way higher than most people are aware of. Female child sex offenders may be more likely to assault female children, but this issue of young, bored, female teachers, in positions of power, specifically choosing jobs where they can exercise their predatory nature and seek out new victims, happens ALL the time. It doesn't get reported as often as adult males abusing underage girls, because a lot of male victims are too ashamed to admit that they were at all hurt, upset or confused by the whole experience. On top of that female sex offenders receive hugely different sentences, when they get sent down. Their sentences are half that of a man in for a similar crime. Women are still viewed as the fairer sex by the judicial system, which unfairly meters out greater punishments to men all across the board; for all crimes.
We're more inclined to look for reasons why a woman, who is expected to possess maternal instincts and be of a nurturing nature, would end up becoming a child sex offender. It's an uncomfortable thing for many people to have to try and think about. And it's books like this, that whilst being hard to read in some areas, give us a more benign insight into the motivation & mentality of the female sexual offender. You know it's a story, so in this instance nobody actually got hurt. You can learn a bit about what elements need to come together in order for the perfect storm of means, motive, opportunity and desire to take place.
And if by chance the book is ever written in such a way as to make you actually enjoy reading some parts of it, then don't feel guilty, dirty or bad. Some aspects of humanity ARE disturbing, but it's much more comforting to feel as though we have a slight insight into how these people operate, having used fictional examples of well drawn characters, by talented authors, who have played out various scenarios and helped us to understand them so much better.
You can examine a contentious issue, with or without uncomfortable prose, without it being something you feel affiliated with. These books are always going to raise hackles because of the illegality and taboo nature of the topic, but it doesn't mean that they shouldn't exist and we shouldn't be curious about it.
The actual number of female sex offenders out there is way higher than most people are aware of. Female child sex offenders may be more likely to assault female children, but this issue of young, bored, female teachers, in positions of power, specifically choosing jobs where they can exercise their predatory nature and seek out new victims, happens ALL the time. It doesn't get reported as often as adult males abusing underage girls, because a lot of male victims are too ashamed to admit that they were at all hurt, upset or confused by the whole experience. On top of that female sex offenders receive hugely different sentences, when they get sent down. Their sentences are half that of a man in for a similar crime. Women are still viewed as the fairer sex by the judicial system, which unfairly meters out greater punishments to men all across the board; for all crimes.
We're more inclined to look for reasons why a woman, who is expected to possess maternal instincts and be of a nurturing nature, would end up becoming a child sex offender. It's an uncomfortable thing for many people to have to try and think about. And it's books like this, that whilst being hard to read in some areas, give us a more benign insight into the motivation & mentality of the female sexual offender. You know it's a story, so in this instance nobody actually got hurt. You can learn a bit about what elements need to come together in order for the perfect storm of means, motive, opportunity and desire to take place.
And if by chance the book is ever written in such a way as to make you actually enjoy reading some parts of it, then don't feel guilty, dirty or bad. Some aspects of humanity ARE disturbing, but it's much more comforting to feel as though we have a slight insight into how these people operate, having used fictional examples of well drawn characters, by talented authors, who have played out various scenarios and helped us to understand them so much better.
Jenella
It's more of a raw look into the mind of a female pedophile and it also shows the true desires of female lust, which can often be disturbing to many readers who aren't accustomed to it. I say, just keep going through it and allow yourself to become affected by it; that's why we read!
LiveFreeReadHard
That's because this author wrote this book to be as shocking as possible (the least intelligent kind of entertainment). Lolita was well written, with interesting, realistic, characters with depth. Tampa is child porn erotica, with literally nothing else of value to the story. It's not "a look into the mind of a female pedophile"...it's just a continuous description of a female pedophile getting aroused by preteen boys.
Trejon Dunkley
Same! It's not even particularly disturbing, it's just gross and kind of bring honestly. The author is trying so hard to be shocking.
Malcolm9989818
Very much the opposite for me. I love how self-aware and frank the protagonist is. It's refreshing to finally read about a woman who aggressively pursues sex, who masturbates, who experiences actual physical lust, and who writes about it without obscuring it beneath flowery prose and euphemism. I wish erotic literature about normal women was this candid.
Susannah
I'm late to answer, but your feelings are completely valid on this one. It's supposed to be horrifying and not everyone can stomach that. Lolita disturbed me more for the subtext of what was happening rather than the language itself (if that makes sense) and the other book which Tampa is often compared to is American Psycho which caused me to sleep with a nightlight for a week. All three are emotionally difficult reads, and you have every right to feel that way.
That said, I'm only 50 pages in and it's oddly compelling-- though, I watch a lot of Law and Order SVU. Also, I found the typo of "Lolita" as "Nolita" in your original question to be so charming. Nolita is a fancy neighborhood (North of Little Italy) in New York, and now I'm devising jokes in my head about reading "TriBeCa" or "The Lower East Side" :)
That said, I'm only 50 pages in and it's oddly compelling-- though, I watch a lot of Law and Order SVU. Also, I found the typo of "Lolita" as "Nolita" in your original question to be so charming. Nolita is a fancy neighborhood (North of Little Italy) in New York, and now I'm devising jokes in my head about reading "TriBeCa" or "The Lower East Side" :)
Susan
I had the same issue. I wasn't going to finish the book, but I wanted to see what happened to the characters. The entire book was disturbing and I did not think it was very well written.
Kelly
I couldn't finish it. It just made me feel totally sick to my stomach. I've never felt so repulsed by a book before!
Christopher Carver
Yes, I did. I don't have a problem reading about taboo subjects and loved Lolita. However, large sections of this book are pornographic filth that don't serve to advance the plot or develop the characters. This is unlike Lolita whose disturbing elements were subtle and described with beautiful prose. The only commonality between Lolita and this book are that they involve pedophilia. Large sections of this book seem written for the sole purpose of arousing or disgusting the readers. I don't want to sound overly harsh. I gave the book 3/5. It isn't bad. There are just large parts of it that turned me off and clearly weren't written for a reader like me.
Laurie Gough
I totally agree. This book feels like child porn. I’m giving up only after ten pages. She seems to be glorifying pedophilia.
Haidee Cardoso
For me it was quite the opposite, I couldn't put it down. Mainly because I was intrigued to know what would the main character do next. Besides, the climax and ending really feels like a whirlwind.
Brianna Williams
It was so hard for me to keep reading yet I couldn't stop. I had so much anxiety and disgust throughout.
Anne
YES!!! Same for me.
C (one.chapteratatime)
Yes. Your discomfort is a good sign. It's horrific. All child porn is.
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