Cailin Riley Books

Deep breaths, because this post is sure to bring up feelings.

I’m going to start this topic with a disclaimer: I am very lucky to have never experienced intimate partner violence or assault. As such, my reflections on depictions of domestic abuse and assault in books come from secondhand information and my own experiences with partners.

Now, let’s dig in:

What prompted this post was a Facebook discussion I came across where somebody had posted a picture of a bookshelf at Target, where someone had turned all of Colleen Hoover’s books around so you couldn’t see the titles. It was definitely a silly and slightly petty move, but commentators pointed out that it was probably because some people believe her books romanticize partner abuse.

I’m not going to argue about whether or not Hoover does romanticize violence in her books. I personally think that some of them do, but I do not think that was her intent at all in writing them. In fact, I know some people have spoken out and said that reading her books has made them feel seen. If anything, I think it’s more a genre-label issue–if you do feel that she romanticizes abuse, then maybe her books she be categorized as general fiction and not romance.

But however you feel about Hoover, I do think there is a fine line for authors to walk regarding depictions of intimate partner violence and sexual assault as how they relate to plot.

I am not against depictions of abuse in general in books. Abuse happens. It doesn’t serve anybody to pretend that it doesn’t and I think readers should be allowed to seek content with serious topics. However, I think how actions of abuse relate to character development matters.

The reason that some take issue with Hoover’s books has to do with how her largely female protagonists interact with their lovers, who also sometimes are their abusers. The relationship between a victim and abuser is a very complicated one: Many people do not like seeing a victim, who is supposed to be becoming a hero, struggle to break away from a man who abuses them. Things get even hairier if the author depicts an abuser as handsome, smart, a good dad, or any other positive traits. We want our bad guys to seem…well, bad.

Another component of books like these that can further romanticize abuse, is the trope of the victim being “saved” by another love interest. A reader might get mixed signals from these plots because it’s harder to distinguish between the hero’s ability to save themselves and happenstance. It is easier to get away from a bad man if you have another man to go to who can provide emotional, physical, and often financial support. Books that have happy endings via the “prince saves damsel in distress” plot might romanticize the path of someone experiencing abuse. But the reality of domestic abuse doesn’t always come with a savior.

Do you think some authors romanticize abuse in their books? What do you think about it? Let me know by leaving a comment.