Ugly - The True Story of a Loveless Childhood
by Constance Briscoe
Hodder & Stoughton, HK$105
As a genre, so-called survivor literature has taken a beating over the past few years, what with James Frey admitting to an outraged Oprah Winfrey that his 'true story' about a dreadful childhood, A Million Little Pieces, should perhaps have been called A Million Little Lies. It's a mystery why people write these books about miserable childhoods, and an even bigger mystery why people buy them. For the writer, there's probably the supposed therapeutic benefit of sharing their secrets with millions of others. In Constance Briscoe's case, she initially wanted to explain to her two teenage children what she went through. Ugly is written with the adolescent reader in mind and there's nothing overly shocking: just beatings and bedwetting and rejection. She hates her mother, who has since sued for libel. There's a lot of child abuse going on, be it physical or the violent or sexual kind, or mental abuse meted out by religious fundamentalists. Stories such as Briscoe's may help children understand their rights. They may also help parents understand their wrongs. Otherwise, what's the point?