Customer Reviews

Innocents

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I have often wondered what goes through the mind of a pedophile. Having read Innocents, I have gotten a glimpse into the mind of the aforementioned person -- from a sixteen-year-old girl's point of view. The nameless young character describes her thirty-four-year-old schoolteacher's desire for her. He is drawn to her naivete and innocence -- what he doesn't know is that she's manipulating him. Thus, making this one of the most twisted psychological novels out there.

The subject matter is deliciously dark and disturbing. The novel questions morality and innocence by making said notions seem abstract. This is one of the cleverest reads I have had in a long time.

Dazzling and Dark.
Two words to describe this odd story. Cathy Coote writes from the perspective of a nameless teen who seduces and manipulates her high school history teacher into a false sense of responsibility and obsession over her.

The sexual scenes in this novel are incredibly detailed and real. And my favorite motif within the novel was that of the constant symbolic comparison of the speaker to a snake. ("You battled yourself, a man wrestling a Boa Constrictor"; "Entertwined on the couch like snakes in their basket") When considering a running symbolism such as this it makes her seem so much more sinister than she admits and even prides herself in being.

However, I stopped reading about 2/3 of the way through. It became too flat and disgusting for me to identify with the speaker any longer. Eventually I picked it up again, and skimming over a few passages I reached the end and again was let down. There is merely the hint of a climax and the book drops its reader into the same pit that the personality of its characters seem to have tumbled into.

I recommend the book for its beautiful diction and description, but warn of its eventual monotany.

Her writing is beautiful- and it reminds me MUCH more of Kathryn Harrison's style than of Nabakov. The fact that so many people are underating her just proves they are paying too much attention to her age and can't get back into the mindset of a teenager. The people reading it saying it left them unfulfilled are probably just angry that the heroine of the story didn't get punished. The point is that the "Lolita" in this story is just as aware of her youthfulness as the her adults are- that's not very common. She is also intent on remaining ashamed. What ties her and her lover together appears to be their dark urges. She wasn't even a character in the first chapter except for the pictures. The whole point of the book is that the main character doesn't have an identity she can feel until she tries to engorge herself into somebody.
I mean the girl even dreams of rescuing her older man from the people who have abused him!!
"Then I'd gather you to me. I'd swallow you whole. I'd absorb you into my bloodstream, and you'd circle around inside me, endlessly." Coote writes.
I think the authors choice to leave out the rest of the world and focus on the relationship, having our main character play less and less of a role in the "Real World" as time passes was a deliberate literary decision.
She has panic of a dancer twirling themselves to death... or a drunk like Cage from the movie "Leaving Las Vegas" about to drink himself to his reckless end.
This is a MUST READ.

This book is not one of my favorites. The prose, while very descriptive, is often too flowery, and I feel that draws away from the plot. However...the plotline in this book is great. The book is dark, and unlike most young authors, Coote does not adhere to or fall back on tired cliches and stereotypes. I wanted to read more of this book, if only to see what could possibly come next. I find that to be a good quality. I look forward to seeing more from this author in the future.

The language of INNOCENTS sails from high, mocking, victorious glee to the depths of self-loathing--not unlike the sixteen-year-old girl who narrates it. It is the voice of this young girl that insinuates into the reader's head, alternately attempting to seduce with her brilliance and disgust with her callous cunning. The story maps out a reverse "Lolita" arrangement, with the beautiful nymphet pulling all the strings and the hapless adult male unwittingly following after her.

This book is not for everybody. The language, in parts, grows overblown and tiresome, and the plot itself offers nothing but an endless cycle of seduction, with no development of characters, no changes. The climax rings hollow, and the ending smells faintly of the end to Fowles' THE COLLECTOR, with just the barest whiff of the cyclic quality of obsession. The seduction scenes are admirable and chilling, but the few actual plot points have an obligatory feel, "thrown in" as it were to advance the story along, with no reason or meaning behind them. In the end one is left with a numbing emptiness--not unlike the narrator herself must feel.

Don't come to this book looking for answers or insights. Ride along and allow yourself to be manipulated by the wily narrator and the very lucid, brilliant author. If Miss Coote has written a second novel, it might be very much worth seeing.

This book has pretty dark subject matter but it is a really exciting read, it keeps you turning the pages to find out what happens. It also makes you think because you're taught by the media to always think that girls are innocent in that kind of relationship but this shows that female sexuality can be just as complex and dark as male sexuality. Highly recommended!!!

Dark, disturbing, weird and funny. If you've ever been to Catholic school, you need to read this gripping, sexy story of seduction and power. Despite the graphically erotic writing, it has an intelligent message at its core, which is that the need to control can itself enslave - control freaks are prisoners of their nature even as they try to exert their influence over others.

Comparing "Innocents" to " Lolita" is like comparing apples and oranges. Nabokov's writing style is brilliant, while the style of a young Cathy Coote is not in that realm- but offers promise nonetheless. While the two most prominent figures in this book are never named, you can easily see them through the descriptions of the manipulative female protagonist. Drawing her helpless older prey ever deeper into sexual obsession and addiction, the girl's innocent exterior masks her cruel and calculating mind- fully using virtually every stereotype of the schoolgirl fantasy. It does seem difficult to grasp the absence of any concerted effort by the impassive aunt and uncle left behind to find their runaway niece. And one must wonder how no neighbors or even casual observers question the live in relationship between the man and his "niece."

I felt a sense early on that the portrayed "victim" was destined for the inevitable bad ending a man usually faces in such an illicit relationship. However, the conclusion does leave the reader feeling a mix of confusion concerning where the couple is heading.

The book is just long enough to offer an interesting, though graphic and disturbing plotline, without being too lengthy. It will be interesting to see how or if Cathy Coote's style and subject matter evolves in future writings.

Dark and twisted, this book is an intense read.
It deals with the manipulation tactics of a 16 year old girl who seduces her teacher.
She moves in with him and they have a very sexual relationship.
There were many odd things about this book, though. Things just seemed uncanny - like how the aunt and uncle made no real effort to drag her back to their house. She IS a minor, after all.
The amount of vulgarity and sexual content in this book is extreme. This book is not for the prudish, or the squeamish.
The sex scenes are extremely graphic and steamy, and some are quite revolting.
Over all, this book was well-written. The author, I think, was very precocious, as there were a lot of big, descriptive words used throughout the book.
It was just the element of uncanniness in this book that made it lose a star. At times, it didn't seem very realistic at all.
All in all, an intense, steamy read - a perverse look into the strange intricacies, and hidden desires of the human psyche.

This was a book I wanted to like--the subject matter seemed interesting, and the reviews I read had high praise. I'm not sure what book the reviewers read. What we have here is an artless, plotless, and frankly unbelievable account of an affair between a young student and her teacher. She moves in with him, seemingly unnoticed by her aunt and uncle (her guardians) or social services. The teacher is a muddy cliche of the "Sensitive Guy," whose motivations are never explored and who comes across as a complete schmo. Our nameless narrator simply doesn't have enough personality to keep her interesting, and you have to wonder what draws these two together. Nor is the book terribly well written--purple prose and clunky dialogue are piled on for 200-odd pages. This reads like a juvenile girl fantasy. Best save your money.