Book review
...knowing he was being beaten, starved and tortured on a daily basis is heart breaking. Yet after all he went through he still survived his ordeal and has written a very moving book that is easily readable by all. He doesn’t use fancy words just tells the story of the hell he went through. I think a lot of us would thank our lucky stars that we were not brought up by parents like his – I know I do and at times I felt my childhood had it’s bad moments but after reading this I feel lucky to have had the upbringing I did. I would recommend this book to everyone for the simple fact it will make you appreciate your own parents more and make you feel lucky not to have lived a life like David’s. ~~~~~~~~ CONCLUSION ~~~~~~~~ To conclude this review I will tell you the usual details. You can purchase a copy of this book at all good book stores and some supermarkets, it’s price marked at £5.99 but like I said at the beginning of this review, I bought mine for a meagre £3.84 at Tesco’s. It’s well worthy of the £5.99 if you can’t get it at a bargain price and I would urge you to read it if possible. It will open your eye’s to what horrors the world has in it. It may seem like a depressing read and in parts it is but it is not without it’s little triumphs. For instance when David finally gets one over his mother, you feel like shouting “Way to go David”. Anyway enough from me and I hope I have encouraged you to go out and buy this book. It is the first of three written about David Pelzer life. Its followed by THE LOST BOY and A MAN NAMED DAVE. I have just bought The Lost Boy and will write a review on it when I have finished reading. is estimated that one in five children is a victim of child abuse.Disturbing statistics, but unfortunately, very much a reality. Dave Pelzer tells the story of his childhood. It is a graphic and moving narrative of his struggle for survival in a house with an alcoholic and abusive mother. As a child Dave an exuberant and lively little boy is considered in need of ’’disciplining’’ by his mother. She devises various ways to punish her ’’bad’’ son . What starts out with sending him to the corner or to bed without dinner, soon graduates to a level of abuse , which is today ranked as the third worst case of child abuse on record in the state of california.Dave is made to do all the house hold chores, is emotionally and physically starved, and is relegated to life in the garage, which becomes his world until the next ordeal his mother has thought up for him ( her favourite game , described by Pelzer as the ’’gas chamber treatment’’ was to lock him in a bathroom with a bucket of ammonia and clorox). She doesnt even call him by his name any more. he is simply refered to as - ’’it’’ . Indifferent siblings and a sympathetic but cowardly father, do nothing to alleviate his condition. Especially shocking was the incident when his mother while threatening him with a knife accidently stabs him deeply. Bleeding he drags himself to his father who looks up from his paper and says, he better get back to his chores if he doesnt want to anger mother any more !!! The book chronicles his life upto the age of twelve when he is finally rescued and placed in foster care thanks to the intervention of his school principal and teachers. It is the first in a series of three books , the later two, covering his teenage and adult years trace his search for a place in society, for an identity of his own. The book is startlingly graphic and cannot fail to move you. And it is reassuring to know that Dave did manage to go on to find success in life. But it does not offer any insights into what makes a parent behave so inhumanly towards a child, their own flesh and blood. Or why Dave was the only one ( he had four brothers) who had to bear the brunt of his mother’s sadism. It is however, a thought provoking narrative. It shows that life isnt as pretty as we would like to believe it is. For every Mr.Ziegler ( Dave’s teacher ) who opened an escape route for him, there are the indifferent neighbours who would rather not get ’involved’. A child called It,” has to be the saddest book I have ever read, every page throwing more tears at me, word by word provoking a reaction inside of me; sorrow, anger, disbelief. This book is the beginning of a compelling biography, by David Pelzer. The concluding parts to his biography can be found in the books: The Lost Boy and A Man called Dave. I have started to read The Lost Boy and will be sure to follow with the conclusion, as I want to read the story of such a brave little boy, so here is my account of that little, helpless boy called Dave. The biography starts with an example of how Dave’s mother would treat him. It’s the beginning of what proves to be one of escape from the terrible torture he suffers. This day, 5 Match 1973, starts as any other for Dave; going about the house being the slave, chores for his mother in return for a scrap of food and no beating. This is no way to treat a child both you and I will agree, though this happened and I was moved. This day improved when finally the school nurse had enough couldn’t bear to look at Dave any more, having worn the same clothes for what had seemed an eternity. The school authorities had been informed, Dave was somewhat naïve, he thought the world was caving in on him yet...