Book Review: Surviving Beauty

Title of Book: Surviving Beauty

Author: David Rory O'Neill

Publisher: Bookbaby, 2nd Edition (Oct. 19, 2011)
Available: Amazon

Description:

Regan was just seven years old when her mystical beauty became a curse rather than a gift. That was when her father began to ruthlessly profit by selling her image. The exploitation of youthful beauty is an eternal struggle of good and evil. A stubborn non-conformist Detective Inspector of the Garda has pledged himself to that struggle. DI Jim Burrows plays a critical role in Regan’s ability to survive and recover from her exploitation. Regan’s journey from childhood to womanhood is thrilling and dangerous but ultimately becomes a warm and inspiring story of a young girl’s brave journey to adulthood, her struggle to survive the exploitation of her innocence, and above all - the healing power of love.

Review:
The novel is divided into three books: Surviving Beauty (chapters 1-6), Rescue (chapters 7-16) and Adulthood (chapters 13-15). I found a significant difference in the writing in each book, and will relate to this in my review.

The first book, Surviving Beauty, is very well written. The characters are distinct and believable, and their interaction is skilfully crafted. The author tackles a very problematic subject - the exploitation of children and adulation of beauty - and does so with taste, subtle insight and understanding. The character of young Regan, around which everything else develops, allows us to view this world through the eyes of a child. She is not only extremely beautiful, but is still evidently quite naive as to how this beauty is being sold.  Perhaps it is not so much naivety, but rather the need to still believe in her parents. But as the book progresses, we see how her innocence is being stolen by the people closest to her.

In the second book: Rescue - I found the writing to be much less compelling. The subtle balance in the first book, illustrated in the dialogue, the interaction between the characters and the development of events - was lost in the second. Suddenly, the dialogue turned into lengthy speeches by the characters, rather than any real discussion. And when the characters were not preaching out loud to others, they did so by speaking to their inner consciousness. I struggled through this part of the novel, not truly feeling the characters , nor was I caught up in the plot. We also no longer experienced much of the action through the eyes of Regan. We began to view her only from the outside, much like the other characters viewed her. This, however, may have been purposely done by the author in order to accentuate her confusing teenage years.

The third book: Adulthood - brought us back somewhat to what was lost in the second book. The dialogue appeared much more realistic again, except for the odd rantings, and we experienced the development of the plot much more instead of simply being told about it. The exploration of the inner conflicts in Regan and those close to her, was quite poignant in parts. I did feel that this inner conflict could have been developed more, rather than sweeping over it towards a quite idyllic ending, but then I am by nature a cynic and pessimist and don’t do as well with happy ending as do many others. The ending definitely was meant to be an inspiring testament to the triumph of good over evil, and I congratulate the author in believing that such things are still possible.

     

Rating: 

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