A Child Called It

Dave Pelzer

Gosh, what a strange book. International million-seller and currently no. 1 in the UK paperback non-fiction charts. You'll probably know that it recounts the author's experiences at the hands of his abusive mother during his early childhood. From that point of view, it makes for compulsive, if rather voyeuristic, reading.

But.....

[1] There is no attempt, even retrospectively as through the eyes of a child, to explain the decline in his mother which led to the abuse. At the start of ch. 2, Pelzer tells us that "My two brothers and I were blessed with the perfect parents", and "Mom was a woman who glowed with love for her children". By ch. 3, Mom is hitting the bottle and has had some sort of mental collapse and Pelzer is getting abused right, left and centre. All we are told is "About this time, Mom's behavior began to change radically". Talk about stating the obvious! We badly need some sort of bridging chapter or passage to account for this change. As it stands, it leaves obvious issues unaddressed.

[2] There is likewise no attempt to explain, again, even through the eyes of a child, why the author was singled out for such vicious treatment while his brothers were not. Ditto - and this really bugged me - the passivity with which his previously doting father acquiesced in this treatment. Why oh why did this man not intervene? The world wants to know, but it won't find the answer in here. Also, in recounting what he does of his relationship with his father, Pelzer is annoyingly inconsistent. On p.128 he says "I loved my Father so much. I wanted to be with him forever...", yet by p.134, he's telling us "I also hated Father", while on the next page it's "I only hated him more" (!) Confusing.

[3] Overall, there is simply no context in which to set the cycle of abuse. Each chapter simply lays on another layer of beatings, assaults and deprivations. In his afterword, the author writes that one of his objectives was "to inform the reader how a loving, caring parent can change to a cold, abusive monster", but the problem is that he doesn't. Ultimately, his account boils down to a list, a catalogue of abuse if you will and, as with most catalogues, there is a certain lack of interest.

I could also mention the writing, which is not quite what I'd have expected from a writer who, in his introductory notes, says that "This book...depicts language that was developed from a child's viewpoint. The tone and vocabulary reflect the age and wisdom of the child at that particular time". A few samples, at random, of this vocabulary: "I felt a new ray of hope"; "I even despised the sun"; "My soul became consumed in a black void"; "I could imagine her turning on her snake-like charm". I can't exactly remember what sort of vocabulary I was given to thinking in when I was a kid, but it sure as hell wasn't stuff like this.

It might be considered non-p.c. to criticise a book containing such sensitive subject matter, but the subject matter isn't the problem - it's how it's presented. This material was tailor-made for an experienced journalist or a Truman Capote. In this reviewer's opinion, Mr Pelzer doesn't do his material justice, and that's a shame.

Oh, one final thing. I wish an editor or proof-reader could have pointed out to the author when to use "me" and not "I".