Customer Reviews

Ugly

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Everyone should read this book, it is so shocking and unbeleivable, you feel for this young girl with all your heart, easy to read hard to put down.. I hope she writes another book asap as I want to know what has happened to her since 1982.. if anyone knows please leave a comment here.. I give this book A 1 and you ladies will love it so much..

Reading "Ugly" by Constance Briscoe is simultaneously a daunting and inspiring experience. Briscoe suffered so dreadfully from the demented behavior of a narcissistic mother. Yet she consistently had the perseverance to keep trying to make sense of and overcome that totally unsolicited cruel treatment. What is even more remarkable to me is that she was able to accomplish this process of self-growth as a black woman in the midst of classicist Britain. I am proud to be her sister in spirit!

My 18 year old first read this book and loved the additional chapters in the book which told of the end result of the case against her mother. I also read it and thought it was a fast read. Though in books like this I always wonder how the authors seem to remember in exact detail about their childhood years. The book tells of the mother taking her journal so the writer would have to recreate her childhood from memory. I guess I just don't have the same memory.

This book is a quick read about determined resistance to child abuse. I found it interesting as will many children's rights activists and general readers. Worth the reading.
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Constance Briscoe, story is not what you think a child life should be,it was loveless. This story is something that I just couln't believe how a mother do her child like she did. You have to ask yourself is this true? A mother abuse this child all her childhood and leaves her I can't see why she didn't tell someone this mother I would love to meet on the street and tell her what I think of her. But by God grace and mercy this young lady made it and now look at her.

This book was incredible.

Very fast paced and interesting from beginning to end.
The ending was triumphant, hopeful and great.

A great story and a well written book.

I thank Constance Briscoe for sharing it.

It is simply amazing what this woman has accomplished with what she went through as a child. She was beaten, starved, and finally abandoned, and yet she was able to finish University and become the first female barrister in England. It just proves that you can do anything that you set your mind to. Her mother is truly evil.

This book was stimulating and eye opening. It is hard to believe that a mother would single out one child and use such abusive punishment tactics. It is also hard to believe that these punishments went un noticed for so many years. However reading this book lead me to understand how so many other child abuse cases go unnoticed today and how extreem it can get. I loved reading this book and could hardly put it down waiting for the climax where Constance would loose her mind and lash out on her mother...

Well I almost finished it...I ended up skipping and skimming through most of it towards the end. Poorly written, poor grammar throughout, like a child wrote it instead of an adult (and she's now a judge?). She was more descriptive about dresses, church scenes, cleaning, than she was about the abuse she suffered. Also if you are writing using words and terminology that people in other parts of the world aren't exposed to; a section detailing what they stood for would of been nice. Most of the time I had to guess what she meant. I got bored with this story pretty quickly, it was repetitive, I read the same abuse over and over, her narrative was awful!
As for her being abused as a child, that I don't doubt and my heart aches for a child abused as she was STILL this book could of been much better written.
My final conclusion? A waste of precious reading time!

This book was pretty good - but certainly not one of my favourites.

I find it hard to believe that a mother would single out one of her daughters and constantly call her "ugly". I also find it hard to believe that a mother would twist her young daughters nipples as a punishment. Constance constantly wet her bed, probably because she was so scared of her mother for beating her and twisting her nipples.

Not a bad read.