Alice Sebold's memoir of the brutal rape and beating she suffered as an eighteen-year-old college student is something I have been meaning to read for a long time. Knowing it was going to be tough, I kept putting it off, but I am so glad I got round to it in the end...
Yes, it is very hard to read in places, but the majority of the book is about Sebold's (interesting - and a little crazy) family and her triumphant battle to convict the man who raped her.
Sebold writes with amazing honesty and insight. The account of her horrifying attack is given with terrifying, startling candour and I can only imagine how hard it must have been for Sebold to write it.
She is amazingly brave, not just for the account of the attack, but for honestly recounting the reactions of people to her after the event and her slow recovery.
Lucky is also a book of hope. Sebold survives. She wins against the man in a rape trial and she wins against him by healing and by going on to help others with this important book. Having read and adored The Lovely Bones, I already thought Sebold was an amazing writer - now I believe she is an amazing person, too.
Rating: 5/5
Like this? Try: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
