I read a lot of books of all sorts about sexual violence/trauma obviously but just finished Triste Tigre and i dont remember the last time i was so confused? Baffled by one? Just to be clear i dont mean this negatively at all btw, im glad i finally got to read it.....
It's like. One chapter, the way the author described some of her own personal feelings and reflexions were extremely relatable and close to my own despite our experiences with it being very different; but then the next chapter, her conclusions about the question of "evil" ("le mal absolu" as she calls it) and how some actions could effectively turn people into "monsters", how the only appropriate punishment for them according to her would be if they end up dying/killing themselves out of shame, etc... were so much more radical and opposite to my own views on the question of the perpetrators of that violence (sexual or not - as she draws a lot of parallels with other kinds of violence in the book as well). It made me feel almost like maybe i am being too naive or too forgiving of people who dont actually deserve it (which is something i do already worry about sometimes... bc what if this ends up making me be victimized again one day, or what if i accidentally allow other people to be victimized by being that way? But i cant help being like this, it's like i just dont have the capacity of holding anger on the long term!), and those views were incredibly baffling to read right next to the other things that i found extremely relatable, that i have in fact just thought before as well and privately written about them sometimes almost word for word. So that really made for one of the strangest, most rollercoaster-ish reading experiences that i've had in a loooong time.
Im really glad i finally read it and will be thinking about it for a long time for sure though! It was certainly one of my most interesting reads so far in 2026 and i respect the author's whole approach to her subject a lot despite disagreeing strongly with some parts. And more importantly: reading this book just reinforced my deep conviction that there is no Right or Wrong way for victims to write about their own experiences and their thoughts on the topic of sexual violence in general, and in fact, i think it is so important for anybody who wants to try understanding the full issue to remain open to hear all the different points of view including the ones we disagree with and/or make us uncomfortable to consider (which is actually a point that she makes in the book too and one that i can fully agree with her without any hesitation!!)...
Also i loved this part near the end of the book:
stormborns
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