A shocking, yet powerful read. Four stars…
I was recently asked to read and review The Scar Letters by author Richard Alther. After reading the synopsis I had been provided with, I knew I had to give it serious consideration. After all, let’s be honest. Who really wants to read a book featuring the brutal rape of a gay man, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Not me. Consequently, my initial thought was an emphatic “No!”
And yet, as I started to write my response (intending to decline this request) my mind started to wander. What if something similar had happened to me? Or a loved one? Or a friend? Wouldn’t I want their story to be told? Wouldn’t I want the world to be aware of the injustices that go unannounced out of fear, or largely ignored because of hate? With a deep sigh, I pressed the send button. Having just accepted the request, I wondered if I’d be able to handle reading the book’s content upon arrival.
In The Scar Letters the reader meets Rudy Dallmann. He’s now in his forties; and while he isn’t anti-social, he does border on being a complete recluse. His preference of isolation however is understandable when one learns that he was brutally beaten and raped at age twenty-two. Thanks to his best friend Tex, Rudy is finally prepared to share with the world what happened to him on that fateful night eighteen years ago.
Having introduced The Scar Letters, and its plot, I will not share any further details. While The Scar Letters is fiction, the premise behind it is not. Sadly, we live in a tempestuous and ofttimes intolerant world – a world where having a same sex preference can showcase humanity’s lack of acceptance; thereby causing individuals to be mentally wounded and/or physically injured due to labels, discrimination and/or hate crimes.
Summary: The Scar Letters is a powerful story; honest, well-written, thought-provoking and heartfelt. It’s also a shocking first chapter read, and not for the faint of heart.