That’s a Choice-Questionable Character Decisions

[Spartan Girl]

We really didn't have a version of this thread for Books? Alrighty then, let's liven things up here and start one!

One dumb book character moment that comes to mind is in Maeve Binchy's The Glass Lake: Lena is shocked and angry when she finds out that her daughter Kit assumed she drowned herself all those years ago and thus burned her Dear John letter to Martin so that nobody would find out.

Except Kit's assumption that it was a suicide letter doesn't seem that unreasonable when you consider that Lena left all her clothes and belongings behind when she ran off with Louis. Lena's excuse was that she didn't want to take anything Martin had given her because it was "honorable." Sure, she was willing to get pregnant with Louis's child behind his back and leave a note behind because she was too chicken to tell him to his face, but far be it for her to take anything Martin gave her, even her own clothes! *facepalm*

Lena, a person goes missing and there isn't a sign that they packed, even grown adults are naturally going to assume something bad happened. Don't blame your daughter for your fuckup.

[smittykins]

Bringing this post up from 2018 on the “Book Moments That Angry Up The Blood” forum:

Quote

Danielle Steel's double standard regarding her plethora of May-December romances is infuriating enough--if you're a hero/heroine, it's okay, if you're a villain, it's bad--but she takes it levels of white-hot rage in the novel "Family Album", when a 49-year old man "falls in love" with his daughter's 15-year old best friend and they marry as soon as she turns 18, but not before consummating the relationship while she's still underage. Or in other words, he repeatedly molests/statutorily rapes her. The whole thing is portrayed as a grand romance--the book ends with them still happily married and the parents of five children.

And that includes her parents, who, after threatening to have him arrested for statutory rape, allow her to continue dating him.

[Lisa418722]

23 hours ago, smittykins said:

And that includes her parents, who, after threatening to have him arrested for statutory rape, allow her to continue dating him.

IIRC she was best friends with the daughter of the man. The daughter was "It's all good.  My best friend is married to my father."  WTH????  

[Spartan Girl]

Ew. I’ll never read that book but the parents sound like complete idiots.

Here’s another moment of idiotic parenting, courtesy of “Mother of the Year” Sharon Shale in Such A Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess: not only taking back her pedophile husband after he serves a measly three-year for raping their own daughter (among several other children), but also leaving said daughter alone in their home with him despite it being a parole violation and the traumatized girl BEGGING her not to!

Yes, the woman really was in that much denial.

Edited March 14 by Spartan Girl

[Ceindreadh]

On 3/13/2024 at 10:44 AM, smittykins said:

Bringing this post up from 2018 on the “Book Moments That Angry Up The Blood” forum:

And that includes her parents, who, after threatening to have him arrested for statutory rape, allow her to continue dating him.

 

10 hours ago, Lisa418722 said:

IIRC she was best friends with the daughter of the man. The daughter was "It's all good.  My best friend is married to my father."  WTH????  

To be fair to the parents (although I'm not in any way condoning it), the daughter had previously run away and been living in a commune, doing drugs, and gotten pregnant before they were able to find her and bring her home.  IIRC (and it's been a long time since I read the book), they were afraid that she might run away again if they pressed charges. 

[Mittengirl]

I feel like every main character in every cozy mystery belongs here.  
 

“I think Bob killed the mailman and the town librarian.  I am going to go over and all but ask him if he is the guilty party.  And I am not going to tell anyone where I am going.  I will also leave my phone in the car when I get to his house.  What could possibly happen?”  

Same song, different verses in subsequent books.

Which begs the question of why do I read them.  I guess I’m not that smart either.

Edited March 15 by Mittengirl