Review: Asking For It by Louise O'Neill

Asking For It | Louise O'Neill | Published September 2015
Rating:
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Asking For It is such an important book.

Eighteen year old Emma O'Donovan lives in a small town in Ireland and like a lot of teenage girls she likes to go out with her friends and party. One night she goes to a party, gets drunk, takes some drugs and flirts with a few guys. The next morning, she wakes up on her front porch with absolutely no memory of what happened the night before. But not to worry: there are hundreds of photos posted to Facebook which show exactly what happened to her.

Emma O'Donovan is beautiful and she knows it. She's confident, she's selfish and not a very good friend. Emma is not a likeable character and the decision to make her so makes this story all the harder to read. Generally it is difficult to sympathise with unlikeable characters and that is the point here: we don't have to like Emma. Being unlikeable doesn't mean that you weren't raped. You can be the bitch of the century and no still means no. Emma being so unlikable opens the reader's eyes to the way we (society as a whole) tend to think about rape victims: their personal life is always dragged up. How promiscuous are they, how often do they get drunk, how often do they have sex, what kind of clothes do they wear, are they a nice person? Emma deals with all of this in the aftermath of her rape. The people of her town completely turn against her in favour of her rapists and the media are constantly discussing her. Is it any wonder that so few rape victims report their assault?

The reactions and behaviour of her friends and family (particularly her parents) were one of the hardest aspects to read for me. I really just could not believe the attitude of her parents and their utter unwillingness to just believe their daughter. They were more interested in their image and losing their "friends" and that was just utterly heartbreaking. Emma's brother is probably the only decent character in the entire book.

As for the ending (SPOILERS):

I think it ended in the right way. I was majorly pissed off at her parents for being relieved and happy at her decision but it is realistic. I'm glad that O'Neill didn't give us a happy ending or wrap things up nicely because it is never going to be over for Emma. She has been completely ostracised from the community she lives in, she's given up her dreams and she is forever going to be haunted by what happened to her. It reflects the society we live in where many victims don't get the justice they deserve.

I can't stress enough how important I think this book is, especially in today's society. There are countless cases in the media concerning rape, and what is defined as consent, as well as rapists who get off incredibly lightly whilst victims are left to suffer. Asking For It deals with the issue of not explicitly saying no but not saying yes either, a lack of memory of the rape, slut-shaming, victim-blaming and the increasing use of social media. This is a must-read for everyone.


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