I'm doing research for a project and I'm looking for a book about/heavily featuring abuse and intimate partner violence from the perspective of the abuser– but not like gratuitous torture and like cartoonishly evil, more like an unreliable narrator kind of deal kind of where it's like you as the reader can clearly see they're abusive but they refuse to admit it to themselves until the very end and maybe not even then. I'm especially looking for books where the abusive character makes use of DARVO tactics and refuses to take responsibility for their actions, blaming pretty much everything but themselves for how they treat their partner. last note, I know I've been using 'they' and for the most part I could work with a book where this character is female, but the focus of the project is patriarchal abuse so I'd prefer the character to be male.
by Soggy-Mushroom-4073
5 Comments
The obvious answer is Lolita.
It’s not exactly what you’re looking for, but My Darkest Vanessa covers some of this territory.
The narrator is the victim, but she spends most of the book romanticizing and justifying the sexual abuse she experienced as a young teen, and the abuser, I’m pretty sure, does use DARVO in his emotional manipulations.
*the collector* by john fowles may be what you’re looking for, but it’s a frustrating read
*Tampa* by Alissa Nutting
It’s from the POV of a female middle school teacher as she pursues one of her students. It’s so disturbing, but is intelligent social commentary rather than just shocking for the sake of it. A very different take on the Lolita archetype.
Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda