Book Review 2

A child called it by Dave Pelzer

‘A child called “it”’, which is written from a child’s point of view, is not a fiction but a true story happened in the States.  This book is about how Dave Pelzer, who is a strong man now, was beaten and tortured by his mother everyday when he was a child. 

He has got a perfect and admiring family when he is in a kindergarten.  His mother gives her children all the best she can and the family gets along in harmony.  However, everything changes suddenly.  His mother becomes an alcoholic and punishes Dave everyday with the reason ‘Dave is a bad boy’.  She often comes up with new methods to torture Dave; one example is that she forced Dave to drink ammonia and Clorox.  All these punishments will probably kill Dave, who is just a little boy at that time. He is no longer a son in the eyes of his Mother but just an ‘it’.  Dave becomes a slave in the family where he has no dignity or respect at all.  However, despite his father and brothers’ acknowledgement of Dave’s situation and the life he is living, they make no serious effort to rescue him.  His father even leaves the family after their divorce.  This only adds more mysteries and punishments on Dave. It is not until one day when his teachers discover the secret of the family and rescue him..

As it is a true story, the punishments and tortures were really faced by Dave when he was small.  The book reveals the ugly sides of human nature as well as the good ones.  Dave’s mother requires him to do all chores at home while she just lay on her couch watching television.  He is not given any food in most of the days.  Although he can make himself some food sometimes, he is required to vomit every day to show his mother that he does not take in anything.  He needs to do what his mother wants. But it is even more terrible to know that his father and brothers witnesses all the things happened in the house and do nothing to help Dave.  What is written on this memoir is a great shock to me and I can hardly believe my eyes when I first read the book.  It reminds me and all readers that these child abuse cases really happened in our world. Actually, it is a great contrast when Dave’s teachers risk their jobs and help Dave from continuing to live with his mother.  There are still many loving and caring people in our society, though not all of them belong to that group.  

Also, Dave’s feeling is so genuine.  It is especially true in the epilogue part.  When he is forced by his mother to eat his little brother’s shit or put his hands on a hot strove, Dave cries heavily.  All readers, including me, will sob in their hearts when they read about how Dave is being tortured.  In the epilogue part, unlike previous chapters, Dave writes from an adult’s point of view.  He looks back and writes down what his childhood life reminds him of.  Now, he loves his life and gives his own son the best he can.  The ideas of ‘I am in control of my life’ and ‘I am virtually very lucky’ come to my mind after I read the whole book.  Dave’s story serves as a good reference to those who always blame their parents of not giving them enough pocket money every day. 

However, this book is not free from defects.  The cohesion of the whole story is not strong enough.  It is a bit confusing about which event or which punishment comes first.  What I know about is all these punishments happen when Dave ages 4 to 12 but I do not know whether the tortures happen according to time sequence or not.

Besides, some parts of the story are disgusting.  For example, Dave’s mother forces him to eat his baby brother’s facets and a hotdog that Dave has vomited.  These parts nearly turn my stomach and I need to take a deep breathe before I can continue to read the book.  

Although some critics complain about the lack of explanation of why his mother suddenly changes her attitude, I think Dave, who was a child at that time, actually do not know the answer to this question. 

As a whole, I give this book three out of five. I will recommend this book to other people, especially those who always complain their parents are not good enough and also to those who waste lots of food.  I hope they can learn from Dave’s experience and appreciate their parents’ care and love and realize how lucky they are.  But I will not recommend the book to people who want to relax in their leisure time.  Reading this book is about serious child abuse and sometimes, as I have said before, it turns readers’ stomachs.