Inspirational (Ugly - Constance Briscoe)

Member Name: Foxy-Lady

Product:	Ugly - Constance Briscoe
Date:	11/02/08 (675 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An inspiring read

Disadvantages: An unpsetting read

Over the last few years there has been a growing trend for 'misery-lit' titles - books which are memoirs of abuse, betrayal, real life misery and generally less than fortunate upbringing. They are extremely upsetting to read but they hold a strange kind of curiosity and fascination. I personally find that these books help me to put a lot of things into perspective, making me realise just how lucky I have been throughout my life so far and how much I appreciate everything I have got - particularly my family.

One such book is 'Ugly' by Constance Briscoe who is a barrister and part-time judge. Successful and currently living in a £1 million London home, she hasn't always been this fortunate. In her first book she tells the autobiographical tale of her loveless childhood. An account of relentless abuse, violence, food deprivation, psychological torture, humiliation and torment...all suffered at the hands of the most least likely of people - her own mother.

The shock factor is inevitable in a book of this nature, leaving the reader exasperated and unable to comprehend the behaviour and personality of people within the pages...

This is the story of a young girl living in 1960's South London who is brought up within a very large Jamaican family. Being the third born out of a total of eleven siblings one can hardly say that she was unwanted, yet this is the distinct impression that is given. It causes the first of many unanswered questions to be raised...why Constance? Singled out for no apparent reason, Constance (or Clare as her mother called her, although we don't know why) is the only one at the receiving end of her mother's violent outbursts.

Without an ounce of self pity Constance tells the reader of the suffering that she endured. In a very matter of fact way she describes how frequent punches to the head, vicious blows to the stomach, excruciating nipple twisting and emotionally tormenting name calling were the daily norm. No child wants to hear that they are ugly, especially not coming from their own mother. Yet it's something that Constance had to listen to time and time again (which is obviously where the title of the book comes from) aswell as other horrible names and expletives. There's no wonder that she suffered from night time incontinence into her late teens. Without doubt caused by a nervous disposition which formed as a result of her mothers actions. A vicious circle because having a bed wet accident was cruelly punished by more horrific beatings.

Whilst reading the book it's quite easy to forget how many people actually lived in the house as most of Constance's siblings are hardly even mentioned - perhaps suggesting just how isolated this child felt at the time. Just two of her sisters play an active part in the storytelling...but not such an active part in helping or defending their sister. They seem to stand by and let it happen. Probably due to the fear of receiving the same treatment themselves.

Due to the nature of the book events are told from just one perspective and as a result I found that there's no depth to any of the 'characters' apart from Constance. We're therefore left with absolutely no understanding of the mother at all - apart from the fact that she's a complete bully. I would've liked to have gained a little more insight and perhaps understanding regarding the actions of some of the people in the book, particularly the mother herself and the sisters. But then if the author has never been given any form of explanation herself, how can she possibly begin to portray it in words? It's not like a fictional story where characters backgrounds are finally revealed to make everything fall in to place. We are therefore left with quite a few loose ends that remain, well, loose.

It's so hard to comprehend how this woman can treat her child in such an appalling manner. And how can she possibly feel so little love and so much hatred towards one child in particular? It just doesn't make sense and results in an uncomfortable read at times.

Scattered throughout the book Constance does recall some lighter, even quite amusing moments but whilst raising a few laughs, these are only short lived and harsh reality soon hits home again. For example, the evening when she goes to bed to find that last nights smelly wet sheets have been put back on the bed where she is subsequently made to sleep. Of course, she was lucky if the bed was even there as it wasn't unusual to find that it had been completely removed, forcing her to sleep on the floor. And Christmas time when her brothers and sisters were treated to lovely new gifts, Constance found her presents to be the same doll and spinning top re-wrapped year after year.

It's disturbing to think that no one tried to intervene as it can't possibly have gone unnoticed. Her school must have realised that something was wrong when she turned up at school with an eye so badly swollen that she couldn't even open it...likewise when she virtually passed out due to concussion but yet refused to go home - the first place a child would want to be if they were feeling unwell. A lot of readers have come to the conclusion that because social services were never involved then it can't possibly be a true story. I'm not of the same opinion though - if there were ten other children in the household who seemed to be fit and healthy, why would the mother's abilities be doubted?

The writing style of 'Ugly' isn't exactly fabulous and by no means ground-breaking. Despite the experiences of Constance there is a surprising calmness to the narration which is written with a childish innocence and way of expressing things. The fact that it is written from a child's viewpoint means that it is very basic in its wording. It reads like a list at times when she describes her routine of getting home from school, doing all the chores such as cleaning and hoovering, putting the washing on, preparing the dinner, then completing her homework. This is sometimes fairly repetitive but it emphasizes just how monotonous her childhood was. The highlight of each day, more often than not being the school dinner she received.

Something that also strikes me with this book is that it almost seems to be told without feeling and I know this resulted in harsh criticism by many who felt this lack of passion was a bad point. I do agree that there's no emotion to grasp onto as such and this gives a sense that Constance is somewhat detached from that part of her life...a kind of numbness towards it all. But who can blame her? I think it simply acts as punctuation to the feelings of the author.

An endearing quality found within the pages is the amazing strength of character that shines through and the author's sense of dignity that most certainly prevails. In fact, the overall tone of the book has an underlying determination, clearly showing that Constance did not want to give her mother any form of satisfaction by getting upset and even being quite defiant at times. This could sometimes be seen as being deliberately provoking but I see it as quite simply as the actions of a little girl being very brave in trying to stand her ground because she is fed up of the way she is being treated.

After reading the book I decided to do a bit of research on the web and it turns out that not one person has come forward and admitted that Constance is telling the truth in her book. Some of her siblings are said to be angry that their mother has been portrayed in this way and the mother herself? Well, now in her 70's, she denies all claims and insists that she never abused her daughter.

Many members of the general public believe that 'Ugly' is a pack of lies but I don't agree with that. Writing a book like this would be far too extreme and damaging if it were completely untrue and I think that its harrowing content is an honest reflection of Constance's upbringing. It provides an inspiring story of a little girl forced to grow up much too quickly. Her experiences have only fuelled her ambitions to achieve over the years and she's living proof that you really can succeed if you put your mind to it, despite any obstacles that may have stood in your way.





Paperback version...
Published by: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 448
ISBN: 0340895993
Cover price: £6.99 (but now reduced on Amazon to £4.89. I got my copy from a charity shop for 50p)

Summary: A true story of a loveless childhood