I mean, right now, as we speak, men are râping babies. LITERAL babies... so, I don't think women are what we should be worrying about when it comes to depraved/abusive sxual behavior towards innocents. This is a book that divides you all the way through and would make for a brilliant book club discussion. It's like tasting something you want to spit out but as the texture is so nice you persist. That's what this book did to me. It's a very thought-provoking book. The novel alternates between past and present, detailing Ralph and Daphne’s relationship in the 70s, reflected on by Daphne forty years later in the present. I can see the resemblance between Tampa and My Dark Vanessa (I have not finished the latter because I was not at a well mental state when I started it). Both about pedophilia, both teacher-student abuse, I really see it. What really did set them apart was the POV. What’s interesting is Heller’s thought-provoking commentary on human nature. Uniquely, Notes on a Scandal is narrated by a third party to the affair, Sheba’s best friend Barbara.

Female abusers do exist, and part of the irony of sexism is that if women are portrayed as weak and helpless, then women like Celeste slide under the radar. Men can be abused and raped, and not just by other men but also by women as well. And even though child sexual abuse does happen significantly more at the hands of men rather than women, there are cases when women do commit these acts of abuse and they should be taken seriously. I couldn't help but think of that Southpark episode, Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy, while reading this, which really hit the nail on the head when it comes to the double standard of how underage sex is viewed with older man/younger woman vs. older woman/younger man. One is clear-cut abuse, whereas the other is sometimes seen as "initiation." She's clever, too clever and it's hard to read at times but the writing keeps you hooked, because the writing is brilliant. the first half of the book often made my skin crawl; I squirmed uncomfortably while reading about the cold-blooded machinations of a person - a teacher! - who is completely without empathy or morality, plotting and planning to take advantage of various minors. Celeste’s narrative is unashamedly truthful with her fantasies (and her reality) described in graphic detail. The story is narrated from the point of view of Chappy, the imprisoned paedophile, and how he gives his new friend tips about how to seduce children. In return, she details her best efforts to him.The opening chapters when Celeste is alone with her thoughts are a work of pure perverse genius and I can imagine this text being studied in a classroom before being banned by several states for being inappropriate. I am still struggling to understand what this book made me feel or whether it left any impression on me at all.

In Tampa, you get to see why and how the actions that happen formulate as thoughts, are manipulated into words and then, actions. It's terrifying. This book triggered me a couple of times JUST because of the manipulation throughout. As readers we judge her character...her actions... her thinking...our emotions are swimming in different directions.... Notes on a Scandal is a Lolita-esque book involving a gender switch as art teacher Sheba begins an affair with one of her 15 year old students. We are told from the very beginning that Sheba has been charged with sexual assault of a minor so there’s no surprise about how this story ends. Middle school teacher in Florida --Celeste Price --26 year old sociopathic protagonist --married to a police officer likes teenage boys. In particular, one 14-year-old boy. This story is told entirely from the POV of Celeste Price. She has no shame in telling you, in detail, about her overt sexual proclivities, including graphic descriptions of her sexual trysts with boys.

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But Celeste’s devotion lies elsewhere. She has a singular sexual obsession—fourteen-year-old boys. Celeste pursues her craving with sociopathic meticulousness and forethought; her sole purpose in becoming a teacher is to fulfill her passion and provide her access to her compulsion. As the novel opens, fall semester at Jefferson Jr. High is beginning. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2020-12-21 01:04:35 Boxid IA1995211 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier