At the Back of Beyond

My book club has been reading several novels recently that focus on the theme of violence against women. Several months ago, we read Roberto Bolano' 2666, followed by Pat Conroy's South of Broad, and now culminating with Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. All have been highly successful bestselling pieces. I believe that, for me personally, I have now overdosed on the theme. In Larsson's novel, one of the key characters moves to a small town in Sweden which is referred to several times as being at the "back of beyond." I believe all of these writers have moved to this position symbolically with their pushing the bounds of common decency.

As a victim myself of childhood sexual abuse, I realize that these crimes against children and women are certainly a reflection of real life. As we have to do is turn on the nightly news to see the latest examples of young girls being kidnapped and subsequently murdered, women leaving clubs alone only to have their bodies found a few hours later dumped into trash bins, and wives being brutally beaten and killed by their own husbands. Jane Velez Mitchell of CNN's news and views show often speaks of "a war against women." I believe this war is taking place in both reality and in fiction.

Why, I ask myself, have the subjects of sadomasochism, torture, incest, bestiality, and other forms of sexual deviation become such mainstream topics of interest for the average person to love these books and revel in reading the details? The war against children and women should be taken seriously, not frivolously, for entertainment only. How much longer can we continue to go beyond the back of beyond?