[Alice]

I'm reading this autobiographical novel for English at school and there I'm confused about many aspects of this novel.

Firstly, if David Pelzer started to suffer abuse when he was around four, how could he have remembered all the good times they shared before it all changed? He would have been too young and will most likely have forgotten through all that trauma yet in the book, he describes every event with detail.

And then there's the father, why didn't he help David get out? It's his own child and he did ONCE love him. I thought it was probably because he didn't want to hold anything against his ex wife, but then why did he leave her without supporting or helping her get psychiatric help? That's really selfish for a 'selfless fireman' to do.

Why did his mother only hate him? And still acted like a loving mother towards the rest? It couldn't be only because David was a little louder or mischievious than the others.. unless he's mellowing himself out for the novel.

And lastly, according to an interview David had with his mother right before she died from cancer he asked her why she didn't kill him or thought about it. She answered with "David honey, I would but I wouldn't know where to hide It's body" does that mean she still hates him that much even after all those years?

Wierd story.. good but confusing.

[jahnna092286]

omg I read that book in middle school and i think it's still one of the saddest books i've ever read.

i forgot a lot of the detail, but i remember that it was very good and made me appreciate my life a lot.

And yeah..good questions. didnt really think about those when i read--i'll have to read it over to try and answer...though i'll probably only know as much as you.

[akemi <3]

Hey...Good questions...Never thought of them too.But actually I think his mother didn't really act as a loving mother to all the rest..She started abusing the other brother after David escaped.

[vannushka]

it is possible to remember things when you were younger, i personally have a great memory..for someone like david, i think he would remember those times too..

his mother DID abuse his other brothers as well..not as bad as the way she singled him out..

"David honey, I would but I wouldn't know where to hide It's body" does that mean she still hates him that much even after all those years?


that's just so evil

great book, the fact that it was real made it more heart wretching.

[_ambrosia]

Good questions; I've never read the book nor heard of it until I entered this thread but your observations makes me want to read the book lol. I'm taking a psych course and adults don't remember their childhood because we're in different worlds, but ^ says that she could so that's puzzling; I guess it doesn't hold true to every person out there then.

[<3goesDOKIDOKI]

ehh you don't know what happens to mothers.
theres postnatal depression.... meaning they become depressive after giving birth and sometimes its so bad that it endangers the life of the child AND mother.

i personally know one myself (not my own mother lol)

a lot of times one parent turns the other cheek to the abuse.
i know a lot of families who run a strict household and the father is extremely strict to go far enough to beat the child while the mother stands and does nothing. they think that they can't do anything to help... or the other way around mom is the abuser and dad stands around and does nothing.

[psquare6806]

ohh mann my friend read that book and she recommended it to me. when i went to the school library to see if icould check it out she kept telling me "that book has been highly criticized...i'ts all a lie.." blah blah. it pissed me off because you can't hold back a book just because it's not real. then it's fiction, but oh well i read a part from it and it was really good.

i mean check out the fanfix forum. there are a lot of stories there that aren't true, yet still good to read, and i don't see anyone saying "DON'T READ THAT CUZ IT'S NOT TRUE!"

[Classic Example]

I did sometimes think about how he could remember the good times before he started being abused. I can't even remember my baby days.

[ooo_it's_mE]

I don't know how he remembered all this. maybe he just has a really good memory.....

anyways, this is the saddest book I've ever read. it made me cry more than once, and so did his 2nd book.

[peeaye]

my sister can remember when my dad came here from vietnam and she was 1. so..its not that surprising to me....

i really love this book too.

[jmidou]

this book and his sequel were both really sad

[f_ishie]

i love this book!!!!!!!!

it's probably my favorite...

i never got around to reading the sequel

to scared?

[lovely-disaster]

my teacher read it to us in junior high. really sad book.
i think the mother had a mental problem, so that was probably why she only treated David horribly

[Iridescence]

I remember a lot of my life when I was 3 years old... so I think that it is possible for him to remember those moments in life. And when it's such a drastic change that occurred in his life, I would think that he would remember how his life used to be.

This book was a truly sad one. And it's sad to know that it is a true story. I'm glad that David was able to take a stand and speak out about his experiences. He didn't let those bring him down his whole entire life.

[x_estherrrrrr_x]

for the dad part, i know he tried to help out but he would always get into bigger fights with his wife so i guess he gave up cuz theres this one part where it says that he brought leftover bread down to the basement to feed david. i guess the mom did hate david til her death. what a psycho. -esther-

[Access DENIED]

He probably has a good memory or maybe he made some stuff up. Who knows. I wouldn't want to remember those horrible things if i was him. Props to him though for writing about his painful memories.

I think his dad was too afraid since the marriage was failing, so he tried to please his wife to lesson the bitter fights. He was not smart enough to take matters into his own hands. After the divorce, he probably was one of those people who wanted to run away from it all. He was a clueless idiot..

I think the mom started abusing her other kid when david left.

David's mom said his name "david honey," instead of "it." Maybe she hated his younger self.. Weird.. I really wanted to beat the crap out of his mom..

[Sp0iL3d_Br8t]

^ really! i hate his mom too.

i read this book, and the one that comes after it, and the one after that.. it gets kinda boring as the new books come..

i think the more painful the memory, the harder it is to forgot, that's why he never forget them. i mean, such an abusive mother, i wouldn't forget that either.

[Sugarminuet]

my teacher read it to us in junior high. really sad book.
i think the mother had a mental problem, so that was probably why she only treated David horribly

Yeah I agree with you too.I mean at the beginning she was nice
to him.Until later on she treat him so badly.I think she went phyco too.Then again
he doesn't have that much info about his mother being crazy.Ugg everytime I read the
book,I just fell so sorry for him.If I was to have a child I would never treat them like he
has been treated.

[s0y0un*]

this is such a sad book ><
really tells you the reality of child abuse

[losborrachos]

the book is so depressing. i remember reading 'the lost boy' too and it's not as gut-wrenching as the first one but still... talk about a hard-knock life.