Synopsis
A fictionalized account of a rape, its aftermath, and the victim's brave efforts to find and convict her assailants--based on a true story. Nancy is a bright 25-year-old radio news reporter with a satisfying career and a steady boyfriend whose life is turned upside down by her horrific experience. Chilling and ultimately triumphant, it is a blunt and moving story readers won't soon forget.
Reviews
Graves's ( Share of Honor ) diligent fictionalized account of his daughter's rape benefits from his insider's knowledge, but it suffers from his lack of authorial distance. Nancy Whittredge, a 25-year-old reporter at a New York City radio station, is raped and robbed after she withdraws money from an automatic teller machine. The events of the next days and months are related from various points of view--those of Nancy's parents, the detective assigned to the case, the rape counselor, the prosecutor and Nancy herself. Nancy struggles to find and prosecute her two assailants, her well-meaning parents often bungle their attempts to help her, and her relationships with her boyfriend and her best friend deteriorate--but she is able to forge ahead with her career and form new friendships. Graves's familiarity with the psychological and legal aspects of rape lends authority to this disturbing story, but he fails to involve the reader and is unable to illuminate his characters' emotional anguish.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
A young New York radio reporter endures a vicious rape and its aftermath. Graves has also written about the Philippines (Share of Honor) and rich WASPs (August People). No-holds-barred realism and authentic police procedures are the distinguishing features in this well-meant but awkwardly didactic effort to depict as exactly as possible what a woman endures during and after rape. Pretty, privileged, and white, Nancy Whittredge is a rising star at an all-news station in Manhattan who, after removing some cash from an automatic teller on her way home, is robbed by two black men, then repeatedly raped, threatened with death, and forced to remove the rest of the money from her checking account. Promptly reporting the crime, Nancy begins the ordeal that must be endured by any rape victim who seeks justice. Fortunately, she's immediately paired with a well-trained victim's- assistance volunteer who stays with her through the humiliation of the physical exam and begins to restore her self-esteem. Against the wishes of her wealthy, overprotective parents, Nancy takes all the right steps, working closely with the police even when their procedures seem unbearable. She tells her story again and again, reviews thousands of photographs, and provides all available clues until the she and the police put a name to one of her assailants, working with great success on the coincidental rape of a soap-opera star all the while. Throughout the ordeal she receives estimable support from her boss and co-workers. Her pudgy, yuppie boyfriend and lifelong chum-roommate are less helpful. Well-meaning but too transparently utilitarian to succeed as a novel. Rather like a long Reader's Digest feature. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
On her way home from work, New York City radio reporter Nancy Whittredge stops at her bank's cash machine to withdraw money for the weekend. Two men rob her of the cash and then repeatedly rape her. The rest of the book is what happens to a woman who has been raped and who decides to press charges. The reader follows the victim through the hospital examination, police questioning, searching through thousands of mug shots, arrests, plea bargaining, and harsh realities of the American legal system. A former managing editor of Life, Graves has written a fictionalized account of the rape of his own daughter. He tells her story in an unemotional, factual manner that showcases her courage, determination, and strength.
- Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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