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Painted Blind (2012)

by Michelle A. Hansen(Favorite Author)

4.02 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1469972859 (ISBN13: 9781469972855)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Createspace

review 1: I am getting very, very fed up with books that perpetuate sexist behavior, condone treating women like possessions, and send the message to teenage girls that this sort of mentality is acceptable and desirable. I just don’t understand how this sort of thing happens. Outwardly, Painted Blind looks really cute, like a sort of modern-day fairytale. But I quickly realized that, while Michelle A. Hansen is a pretty good writer, the content of her writing was…well, sexist and bigoted and a self-respecting woman’s worst nightmare.But more on that later.First off, I’m going to talk about agoraphobia, because whatever was going on in this book was definitely not agoraphobia, as advertised by the summary. Because in spite of her “agoraphobia”, Psyche didn’t seem to hav... moree any problems jet-setting off to Milan, the Caribbean, frat parties, a whole other dimension, etc. By definition, an agoraphobe is a person who is extremely and/or irrationally afraid of leaving his or her house. Not once in Painted Blind was there a moment where Psyche expressed fear of stepping outside her door. So either Hansen doesn’t understand the medical condition she chose to write about, or she forgot that Psyche was supposed to be agoraphobic, or whoever wrote the summary was an idiot. If you want to read a truly excellent novel about agoraphobia, go check out The Awakening by Angela Elwell Hunt (bonus: it’s a retelling of Sleeping Beauty!).Anyway.Psyche is a teen girl who meets up with this insanely attractive guy, falls instantly in love with him, and is swept off to his mythical kingdom. Yadda yadda, typical YA ridiculousness, which I was mostly okay with.But then the love interest, Erik, hands Psyche a pendant without telling her what it means and tells her to wear it on her wrist. Turns out, that the pendant is a signal to any other male that Psyche is Erik’s property, so HANDS OFF. Whoa, whoa, whoa. First, branding a girl like she’s a cow is barbaric and medieval. Second, and more importantly, when did Psyche ever give Erik permission to claim her as his? Oh yeah, she didn’t! But when she found out about their “engagement”, she wasn’t mad or anything. She just accepted and moved on.And what Psyche and Erik moved on to was even more disgusting. Erik gets Psyche some new clothes, and she thanks him. Erik’s response? That if she didn’t wear nice clothes, she would be a “disgrace” to him in front of his friends. No. Are you kidding me? Way to objectify your “fiancée” and prove how much she’s truly worth to you. Right there, Erik treated Psyche like a piece of disposable arm candy who might embarrass him if she didn’t wear expensive clothes, jewelry, and makeup. Are you kidding me? I think everyone agrees that teen girls spend too much time obsessing about appearances as it is. Why not send out the message that men value good looks primarily, over personality or inner beauty, yet again?But wait, there’s more!At one point, Psyche and her best friend have pizza together. After eating, the Best Friend “jokes” that she’s going to purge because she ate so much. Psyche laughs. NO. Turning bulimia into an opportunity for comedic relief is beyond tasteless. You do not make jokes about eating disorders, no no no. Oh my gawd.Bottom line? I’m sure Michelle A. Hansen had the best of intentions, but telling teen girls that the man of your dreams should treat you like a pretty painting or a shiny sports car is wrong. I don’t care who you are, but men should respect their daughters/wives/girlfriends/sisters/whatever. Painted Blind did not portray a romantic relationship based on respect (or even mutual consent), and because of that, I’m furious and horrified.…I’m fed up, like I said. Fed up.
review 2: It's a retelling of the Eros and Psyche myth. Of course, I'm going to rate it high! Really though, I enjoyed it. The author stays pretty true to the original myth, but the world she creates is really unique. I would have liked to have known more about Psyche's mother, though, and Rory seems to be ignored completely in the first half of the book. Also, if Psyche is so beautiful, why hasn't she ever been on a date before? If she just didn't want to date, then why not say that? less

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