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Dark Chapter: Hard-hitting crime fiction based on a true story

Dark Chapter: Hard-hitting crime fiction based on a true story

by WinnieM.Li (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2017

    $3.34
Synopsis

An astonishing and unique novel inspired by the author's own story

`I highly recommend Dark Chapter...post-rape numbness, stifled rage, female victim alternating with rapist - how circumstances and accident come together tragically.' Joyce Carol Oates

Vivian is a cosmopolitan Taiwanese-American tourist who often escapes her busy life in London through adventure and travel. Johnny is a 15-year-old Irish teenager, living a neglected life on the margins of society.

On a bright spring afternoon in West Belfast, their paths collide during a horrifying act of violence.

In the aftermath, each is forced to confront the chain of events that led to the attack.

Inspired by true events, this is a story of the dark chapters and chance encounters that can irrevocably determine the shape of our lives.

Book Prizes:

Winner of The Guardian Not The Booker Prize

Shortlisted for The Authors' Club Best First Novel Award

Nominated to The Edgars Awards

Highly Commended for CWA Debut Dagger

What Reviewers and Readers Say:

'Complex and rewarding... an important book,' Stylist

'Heart-wrenching depiction... Brave, raw and strikingly original, it is a story that will resonate for many years,' Daily Mail

'An important and moving book about rape and the long process of recovery,' Cathy Rentzenbrink

'Dark Chapter is a fascinating book, which takes an unflinching look at reality of sexual violence. I have never found myself rooting for a heroine with more urgency than in Dark Chapter,' Kate Rhodes

'Deftly written, pacey and unflinching, I could not put it down. Winnie M Li is a rare talent with an explosive and timely story. Do not miss it,' Marti Leimbach

`Dark Chapter is a must-read. It's gripping, compelling and all the more authentic for inhabiting both voices so completely. Stunning,' Erin Kelly

'Winnie M Li handles alternate points-of-view seamlessly in Dark Chapter, an unflinching lens on the sexual assault landscape and one that should be applauded,' Ali Land

`An authentic, courageous debut, told with unflinching honesty and exceptional insight,' A.D. Garrett

`A powerful story, compassionately told,' Ros Barber

`An accomplished debut, an honest and unsparing story,' Cath Stanicliffe

'Lyrical, haunting and hypnotic. Winnie Li yanks us into the abyss, luring us to confront the complexities of our humanity before expertly pulling us out. An important novel from a ballsy new literary heroine. A must read,' Irenosen Okojie

'The novel is as disturbing and entertaining as any crime thriller is. But Li is writing from experience, fictionalising her attack as a way to explore how the legal system treats rape victims, and the real effects of such an experience. Most interestingly, Li fleshes out the mind of the rapist: the experiences that have shaped him and which legitimise his behaviour to himself. I really want lots of people to find it and read it.' Sara Pascoe

`Extraordinarily courageous... humbling... A remarkable book to read in this time.' A.L. Kennedy

$3.34

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 384
 Edition: 1st
 Publisher: Legend Press
Published: 01 Jun 2017
ISBN 10: 1785079042
ISBN 13: 9781785079047

Media Reviews
'An important and moving book about rape and the long process of recovery.' -- Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love 'Dark Chapter is a fascinating book, which takes an unflinching look at reality of sexual violence. I found myself asking hard questions about society and relationships, but above all I was gripped by the brilliant and complex narrative. I have never found myself rooting for a heroine with more urgency than in Dark Chapter.' -- Kate Rhodes 'Deftly written, pacey and unflinching, I could not put it down. Winnie Li is a rare talent with an explosive and timely story. Do not miss it.' -- Marti Leimbach, best-selling author of Dying Young and Daniel Isn't Talking 'Complex and rewarding... an important book' -- Stylist 'Dark Chapter is a must-read. It's gripping, compelling and all the more authentic for inhabiting both voices so completely. Stunning.' -- Erin Kelly 'An authentic, courageous debut, told with unflinching honesty and exceptional insight.' -- A.D. Garrett 'A powerful story, compassionately told.' -- Ros Barber, winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize and The Author's Club First Novel Award 'An accomplished debut, an honest and unsparing story.' -- Cath Staincliffe 'Heart-wrenching depiction... Brave, raw and strikingly original, it is a story that will resonate for many years' -- Daily Mail Lyrical, haunting and hypnotic. Winnie Li yanks us into the abyss, luring us to confront the complexities of our humanity before expertly pulling us out. An important novel from a ballsy new literary heroine. A must read -- Irenosen Okojie, Winner of Betty Trask Award 2016, Longlisted for Jhalak Prize 2017 Had me gripped from page one and I was with its heroine, Vivian, every step of the way. The threat to her is conveyed with nerve-shredding tension, then with vivid horror. Extremely well written and inspired by real events, this is an impressive and powerful debut -- Isabel Wolff, author of Ghostwritten This is a book about survival. The ones who make it often feel compelled to stop it happening to other women. Dark Chapter should be seen as a beacon of hope as well as a tale of how sadistic and destructive male violence really is. Read it in order to make sense of it, and also to help explain 'why' to girls who need to be armed with as much knowledge and resistance as humanly possible -- Julie Bindel Dark Chapter is a brave and unflinching novel that forces us to confront the meaning of rape from the perspective of a perpetrator whose dehumanisation of women leads him to sexual abuse, and a survivor who draws on her inner strength to transcend the ordeal she endures. The novel is taut with suspense and drama and while shocking and deeply disturbing, it ultimately speaks to the power and triumph of the human spirit. -- Bernardine Evaristo MBE Crime writers have long insisted that their genre tackles societal issues better than any other, and Winnie M Li proves that claim beyond a doubt. While the story centres around a horrific crime, it's the exploration of the aftermath and the cruelty of the justice system that sets this book apart. A fine debut from an exceptional talent, and an important study of the human cost of violence -- Stuart Neville, award-winning author of The Ghosts of Belfast and So Say the Fallen It may be the author's bravery and honesty that people will (with reason) focus on, but it is her skill as a writer finally that sets Dark Chapter apart. This is not just an important book, it is a very, very good one, and the first, you feel, of many from Winnie M Li -- Glenn Patterson, Author & Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at Queen's University Belfast, winner of the Betty Trask Award and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature Winnie M Li handles alternate points-of-view seamlessly in DARK CHAPTER, an unflinching lens on the sexual assault landscape and one that should be applauded -- Ali Land, Sunday Times bestselling author of GOOD ME BAD ME Winnie Li's debut novel is a shocking yet thought-provoking insight into the impact of rape on both victim and perpetrator. The fact that it's based on real events makes it especially challenging. There are important lessons to be learnt from Dark Chapter - a book to be read and discussed -- Canon Dr Ed Newell Writing about rape is never easy, yet Winnie Li handles it with sensitivity and without over-sentimentality. But you will squirm, as you witness Vivian's ordeal and gasp at Johnny's complete lack of compassion. Read Vivian's story and know ultimately, 'That it's possible to move on and put your life back together ... An engrossing story that raises many issues about the psychology of victim/survivor and stalker/ criminal. The actions that weave Vivian and Johnny's lives together are tense, unsettling and very real. Winnie Li tells it well -- Kadija Sesay, SI Leeds Literary Prize Chair of Judges An intriguing and surprising book, written with a calm, expert sensibility -- Beatrix Campbell
Author Bio
Winnie M. Li is a writer and producer, who has worked in the creative industries on three continents. A Harvard graduate, she has written for travel guide books, produced independent feature films, programmed for film festivals, and developed eco-tourism projects. After graduating with Distinction in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths (where she was shortlisted for the Pat Kavanagh Prize 2015), she now currently writes across a range of media (including a column for The Huffington Post), runs arts festivals, and is a PhD researcher in Media and Communications at the London School of Economics. She was Highly Commended for the CWA Debut Dagger 2015 and also shortlisted for the Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize. She lives in London yet is somewhat addicted to travel. Dark Chapter is her first novel. Follow Winnie online at winniemli.com or on Twitter @winniemli