A reflection on a traumatic childhood back in the 50s (Childhood Interrupted - Kathleen O' Malley)

Member Name: Worthington87

Product:	Childhood Interrupted - Kathleen O' Malley
Date:	05/06/07 (151 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: well written, engaging

Disadvantages: not a particularly outstanding book but still a good read

Childhood Interrupted by Kathleen O' Malley is a memoir book so everything is past tense and not like it is happening at the time. I think it's well written and astounding that she, the author, has managed to remember quite a bit.

As you can guess from the book's title the story is about a traumatic childhood - I don't know why I seem to keep reading these kind of books, I guess it's human tragedy overcome which is the most fascinating thing.

The author, now a magistrate was raped at the age of 8 in the 1950s. Due to the stigma attached to having children without being married and the fact that her mother took the pedophile to court, her mother suffered the loss of her children and they were taken away from her by the NSPCC (which back then was a bit corrupted) and the government despite her mother actually being a good mother. The author and her sisters were sent away to an Industrial school (the word would probably spring to mind the word "factory" and you would be right) in Ireland where the nuns "the Sisters of Mercy" abused the children and pretended everything was okay to the parents, especially in the case of Kathleen and her siblings whose mother was only allowed to visit once a year. And after she visited & was gone, the children were scolded on how their mother was a bad mother and so they were bad children.

While they were meant to actually have a proper education in the school, they were put to work in terrible conditions and with poor living conditions, and of course they were treated like inferior human beings, or animals might be the word.

What is good is as the reader you see the psychological effects being played out, even long after the author has left the school.

As a reader you are constantly anticipating what the nuns will do next and are appalled at how these religious women could be so callous towards children in their care.


>> Cover: Close up image of a girl with hands clasped together, praying. Predominant book colour is white. I bought this book in WH Smith and am sure it is still there but can't find it in the paperback chart any more. You would be able to find this book in waterstones.

I would write more but I'm afraid I've been searching my room for the book for the last ten minutes and can't seem to find it!

It is an enjoyable book, a look at the past with the voice of today, detailing stigma in a traditional attitude society and how a child overcomes a hard environment and becomes a successful barrister. A worthwhile read but in my opinion nothing particularly exciting and gripping though others may think otherwise.

Summary: a thoughtful and well written memoir of the authors abusive childhood