Helpless: A Novel [Paperback]

Barbara Gowdy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

Rachel is a nine-year-old girl whose luminous beauty inspires every form of admiration. One summer night, when a summer blackout plunges the city into darkness and confusion, her most fervent admirer--a middle-aged appliance repairman named Ron--abducts her from her home. Set over the next two weeks, Helpless moves between the perspectives of Rachel, her mother, Celia, and Ron, whose feelings for Rachel grow less innocent by the day. Tapping into the fear that resides just below the surface of contemporary city life, Helpless is a "brilliantly realized thriller about every parent's nightmare" (Calgary Herald).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Love comes up against obsession in Gowdy's seventh novel (following The Romantic), and the results are at times chilling, but not always believable. Single mother Celia works two jobs and is often forced to bring nine-year-old Rachel along to her nighttime gigs at a piano bar. Much to Celia's dismay, men are already drawn to biracial Rachel's exotic beauty, and she reluctantly turns down a lucrative modeling contract for the girl. Yet she's unaware that appliance repairman Ron Clarkson has an unhealthy fascination with Rachel that's escalating. Convinced that Celia is not a worthy parent for Rachel, Ron abducts the girl, soon involving his needy girlfriend, Nancy, and igniting an extensive investigation. Although set in Toronto's urban Cabbagetown neighborhood, the atmosphere feels smalltown insular and relies a bit too much on coincidental acquaintances to feel like a city setting. The kidnap plot is, for Gowdy, surprisingly conventional, but frequent glimpses into the childhoods of Ron, Nancy and Celia add depth, revealing the characters' motivations and inviting contemplation of what constitutes appropriate love toward a child. Ron remains too warped to be remotely sympathetic; more compelling are Nancy's conflicted loyalties and Celia's occasional brutal reflections on the sometimes greedy, possessive love between parent and child—a love not unlike obsession. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Here the imaginative Gowdy (Mister Sandman, 1997) reins in her surrealistic side in the service of a more conventional plot, and the result makes for absorbing reading. Single mother Celia Fox works two jobs but is plagued by money problems; however, she never considers her daughter anything less than a blessing. She still feels a sense of amazement that the beautiful nine-year-old Rachel, who has received the attention of a local modeling agency, is really hers. But then Rachel draws the admiration of Ron, a middle-aged appliance repairman who becomes convinced that her mother is neglecting her. During a blackout, he abducts her and locks her in a room he has constructed just for her, complete with a plasma TV and a custom-made dollhouse. As the police hunt for Rachel intensifies, so do the emotions of the involved parties. Even Gowdy's secondary characters are memorable, especially Celia's kindhearted, intellectual landlord and Ron's vulnerable, ex-addict girlfriend. But her true feat is the sympathetic portrayal of Ron himself, a man who seems painfully unaware of his own dark impulses. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Picador; 1st edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312427662
• ISBN-13: 978-0312427665
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,432,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars deep psychological study, April 7, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Helpless: A Novel (Hardcover)

In Toronto, single mom Celia Fox works two jobs while raising her beautiful mixed race daughter nine year old Rachel. Celia works at Tom's Video and plays jazz and blues at Casa Hernandez Motel. As protective as Celia is of her daughter, she is unaware of the impact her exotic looking offspring has on men, but begins to comprehend when a child model agent wants to hire Rachel; Celia has doubts, but Rachel sees a chance to earn money that she and her mom could use. However, mom is unaware that repairman Ron has seen Rachel and fallen in love.

Ron wants to save his beloved from poverty and maternal neglect and abuse. When a blackout occurs, Ron realizes he has the opportunity to save his Rachel so he abducts her for her own good. He enlists his girlfriend Nancy to help him "protect" the child, but finds his needs for her beginning to overwhelm his reasoning. As the police search for the missing preadolescent and Celia fears the worst, the media turns the abduction into a circus.

This is a deep psychological study that looks into the minds of the key cast members especially mother, daughter, kidnapper, and accomplice. The story line is totally character driven with the suspense coming from the subtle changes in attitudes of the prime quartet. Celia suffers from guilt and doubt as she deals with a caring mother's worst nightmare; Rachel begins to change her attitude as the Stockholm Syndrome begins to take affect. Nancy begins to have doubts that they did the right thing for the little girl as she realizes that Celia is not a terrible abusive mother. However, it is creepy Ron who makes the tale as he begins to conclude his pristine reasons are not pure. This is a frightening insightful suspense thriller that never lets the readers pause for a moment.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite novels of all time, August 22, 2008

By 

Micah A. Chavin "Whispered Truth" (Santa Barbara) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Helpless: A Novel (Paperback)

I read a new book about every 4 days, in 2008 I've already read over 30, and this one is absolutely one of the best.
Sometimes it is hard to find something novel in a novel, however this book is captivating by its dedication to honest characters and realistic decisions, emotions and relationships in a rare situation (but still very real and believable situation).
Dozens of times during this book I got that unique euphoria from the author finally putting a rare, special feeling into words never previously expressed.
Like all great novels, the protagonists have flaws and the antagonists have virtues and Gowdy raises many interesting, important questions that go purposefully unanswered.
A beautiful, brilliant, endearing book that will stay with me for a long time and definitely on my list of books to re-read.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes you really think about the character's motives and actions, May 14, 2007

By 

Suzanne Amara (MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Helpless: A Novel (Hardcover)

This author seems to have a real way with characters. I found myself thinking hard about each one, trying to understand how their lives have influenced their actions. There is just the right amount of flashbacks, enough to make you see that each character has a whole backstory. I think quite a few more books could be written using this same set of people. One of the main characters is a very disturbing person who does very upsetting things, but it's to the author's credit that you are left feeling as if he has fought a fairly courageous battle to not make his life a total disaster. The only time the book dragged for me at all was during police procedural and searching parts, which seemed a bit textbook. But this isn't really a plot driven book. I read it frantically whenever I found a moment, and have been thinking about it ever since.