Thursday night, hockey in the background

[ksmith]

I'm currently reading a thriller, which is both one of a series and the third and last in a smaller multi-book story arc. Even though I like it well enough, and want to see how the arc ends, part of me is reluctant to read on because one of the plotlines involves the set-up for abuse--emotional and possibly sexual--of a vulnerable supporting character (VSC) by the villain. The classic approach is unfolding--the isolation, the gifts, the planting of doubt concerning the others in the VSC's life. It's clubbing-baby-seal territory, and I don't feel comfortable there. Which may well be the point of the exercise, but part of me is rebelling. I am hoping that the reason other characters worry so about the VSC is not because she might crumble under pressure, but because she might go off like a Claymore mine. I would prefer the Claymore mine outcome, and it would be a twist if this weaker character bested the villain at his own game. But this is a mainstream thriller, and clubbing baby seals is one way to show just how evil the villain is.

So here I am, feeling protective of one character and wanting to bury an axe in the head of another. I guess the writer did his job.

Comments

[threeoutside.livejournal.com]

I guess my question would be, "Do I need that job done on me? Is this the highest and best use of my time and feelings?"

But that's just me.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

In part, this is research of form and, to some extent, content, so I will probably finish it. And I have been monitoring the set-up, and I do want to see whether the payoff turns out to be 1) what I expect, or 2) what I hope.

[threeoutside.livejournal.com]

Ah. I didn't mean to question the validity of whether or not you read the whole thing despite "the job" it was apparently written to do. I really was just "speaking" for me. The older I get the less time I have to spend on books that add no value to my life, one way or the other. Even if the value is just entertainment.