This post has been written for the Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Campaign - please check it out; this review includes some spoilers though I’ve tried my best not divulge plot details.
When I received the copy of HUSH that I had ordered online, at first, it seemed like there was more packaging material than book. HUSH is a slim book indeed, but weighty nonetheless. A graphic novel that takes on a troubling and uncomfortable subject that most people would prefer not to think about - child sexual abuse.
With absolutely no text, and very few images, this graphic novel by Pratheek Thomas and Rajiv Eipe tells the story of a girl in a seemingly normal urban family, which really isn’t normal at all. While I am not going to divulge the details of the story, suffice to say that the book makes a strong impression. A couple of things stood out for me.
One was the helplessness of children - not just in the context of abuse but in general. For adults who have the care of children, I can understand how frustrating their behaviour can sometimes be - the yelling, the tantrums, the way they sometimes can embarrass parents - and yet, how frustrating must it be for a child to constantly be told not to do something or not follow all their natural instincts. (This post - “Respect” is worth reading in that context). In one of the panels in HUSH, a little girl cowers in the Principal’s room, and while I don’t think it was meant to indicate sexual abuse, the question of power and the use of fear to control children loomed large. If we teach children to fear adults and that good behaviour always means saying Yes, how can we teach them at the same time to say No?
A while after reading the book, another thing that really stays in the mind is the vivid expressiveness of all the characters’ faces in the book - and especially, of the anger that an abused child feels. HUSH does its close-ups superbly; in fact, in many places, it feels uncomfortable, as though one is personally part of a system that has failed this child - such is the anger in her eyes that glare at you.
Which can only be a good thing - it’s time more of us took responsibility for looking out for children we come in contact with, and not necessarily only one’s own kids.
apu Other Social issues in India, The Literary life
Strangely enough, there was no specific launch date, although the first bunch of articles went up early April 2010. Work has been so busy that I never even realised that a year was up until the end of April! It’s been a challenging year - a year of finding out how little I know about running an online publication - but it’s been extremely exciting too, and I wouldn’t have given up the experience for anything!
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