Quote:
Originally Posted by Lirael
The problem is that it doesn't. It portrays a really, really messed-up (understatement of the year!) view of BDSM (and relationships in general), all the while insisting to the reader this is exactly how it ought to be.
As this book started as a Twilight fanfic, it's got basically the same problem as its source material - portraying an abusive relationship as a romantic ideal, except that since this author is somewhat less skilled than Twilight's author the problems are magnified.
The danger, I think, is that people will read this and get it in their heads to try things without doing any further research - and this is quite probably one of the worst instruction manuals you can find.
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Aside from it starting out as Twi-fic, this is true for a lot of fiction out there concerning a variety of subjects and lifestyles. I've read plenty of erotic fiction with domination themes that are awesome
in context, but if a guy tried that in real life he'd come away with a broken nose or worse.
IME, most people can recognize an abusive relationship in a book or movie or even someone else's life more easily than they can recognize one in their own lives. They also can recognize that something is wrong even if it's portrayed positively. Otherwise, turning Dexter into an HBO series would have created a bunch of serial killer super heroes before the first season ended.
As for those who aren't "most people"... If all it takes is a poorly written book for someone (or a pair of someones) to do something incredibly dangerous and possibly tragic without ever realizing the peril, I'd wager that if it wasn't this, it would have been something else. Their "really bad decision" clock was likely already ticking. You could put a three-page large-print warning in the front of the book and it wouldn't make a difference.