Sensitive Crimes Book List--A Community Discussion About Sensitive Crimes
Letter from Kathleen Falk, Dane County Executive

For many of us who love to read, literature is a way to explore our lives and the world in which we live. Through books, we can touch other lives and begin a journey to knowing each other and ourselves. It is literature's ability to open new perspectives that we would like to bring to sensitive crimes in our community.

We are asking book groups throughout Dane County to join a community-wide discussion about how we are affected by and can affect sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and elder abuse. By thinking about how the characters or situations in these books could have been affected in a positive way by people around them, we will begin to think about how any of us can participate in transforming our communities into safe, supportive places for all of us.

Why do we need to talk about these crimes? One of the things that sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and elder abuse have in common is that although they affect thousands of our community members, we are reluctant to talk about these issues. People who witness abuse or suspect abuse often feel that it is none of their business or feel powerless to help. Too often we limit our involvement because we ignore the many small ways we can positively affect someone's life.

How can you participate? Below you will find a reading list. The reading list was recommended by experts in the areas of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and elder abuse, and has been compiled by the Dane County Library Service. We ask that your book club read one of these books and discuss it. If you would like someone to participate in your discussion or you would like more information, you can call the Chairperson of the Commission on Sensitive Crimes, Kelly Anderson, at the Rape Crisis Center at 251-5126.

Please join us in this small act to "decrease our sense of isolation" and give voice to change in our community.

Kathleen M. Falk
Dane County Executive

The Dane County Library service is pleased to participate in this project and suggests the following book titles.
We appreciate the expert advice offered by those who work with victims of sensitive crimes , as well as by reader advisory librarians across the country. This list is composed of books that are, first of all, available. They are in print and held in Dane County libraries. The list is overwhelmingly one of novels; the occasional play, memoir, or book of poems is so identified. A balance of subject matter, cultural and geographical diversity, as well as a representation of writing beyond the most recent years was attempted. Success, however, was limited by that which has been published and is currently sold in this country.

Allison, Dorothy. Bastard Out of Carolina. 1992 (incest)

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. 1999 (sexual assault)

Ansay, A. Manette. Vinegar Hill. 1994 (domestic violence)

Barker, Pat. Union Street. 1982 (domestic violence)

Bragg, Rick. All Over But the Shoutin'. 1997 (domestic violence; a memoir)

Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. 1983 (sexual assault, domestic violence)

Cody, Paul. The Stolen Child. 1995 (child abuse)

Conroy, Pat. The Prince of Tides. 1980 (sexual assault)

Danticat, Edwidge. Breath, Eyes, Memory. 1994 (domestic violence)

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. 1838 (child abuse)

Doyle, Roddy. The Woman Who Walked Into Doors. 1996 (domestic violence)

Driscoll, Frances. The Rape Poems. 1997 (sexual assault; poetry connection)

Duff, Alan. Once Were Warriors. 1990 (child abuse, sexual assault)

Evans, Richard Paul. The Locket. 1998 (elder abuse)

Gibbons, Kaye. Ellen Foster. 1987 (child abuse)

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1890 (domestic violence)

Guest, Judith. Second Heaven. 1982 (domestic violence)

Hamilton, Jane. The Book of Ruth. 1986 (child abuse)

Hardy, Thomas. Tess of the d'Urbervilles. 1982 (sexual assault)

Hulme, Keri. The Bone People. 1985 (child abuse)

Hollingshurst, Alan. Swimming Pool Library. 1989 (sexual assault)

Irving, John. The Cider House Rules. 1985 (incest)

King, Stephen. Dolores Claiborne. 1993 (elder abuse)

Lamb, Wally. She's Come Undone. 1992 (sexual assault, domestic violence)

Dorris, Michael. A Yellow Raft in Blue Water. 1987 (sexual assault)

Mackay, Shena. The Orchard on Fire. 1996 (child abuse, sexual assault)

Mazer, Norma Fox. When She Was Good. 1997. (child abuse)

McCourt, Frank. Angela's Ashes. 1996 (child abuse, domestic violence, a memoir)

McDonagh, Martin. The Beauty Queen of Leenane. 1996 (elder abuse, child abuse; a play)

MacDonald, Ann-Marie. Fall on Your Knees. 1996 (incest)

McKinley, Robin. Deerskin. 1993 (incest)

Michael, Judith. Sleeping Beauty. 1991 (incest)

Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. 1970 (incest)

Naylor, Gloria. The Women of Brewster Place. 1996 (sexual assault)

Nesaule, Agate. A Woman in Amber: Healing the Trauma of War and Exile. 1995 (sexual assault; a memoir)

Neufeld, John. Boys Lie. 1999 (sexual assault)

Oates, Joyce Carol. The Rise of Life on Earth. 1991 (child abuse, domestic violence)

Ozeki, Ruth. My Year of Meats. 1998 (domestic violence)

Padgett, Abigail. A Child of Silence. 1993 (child abuse)

Peck, M. Scott. A Bed by the Window. 1990 (elder abuse)

Phillips, Jayne Anne. Shelter. 1994 (child abuse)

Price, Nancy. Sleeping With the Enemy. 1992 (domestic violence)

Prouix, Annie. The Shipping News. 1993 (incest)

Quindlen, Anna. Black and Blue. 1998 (domestic violence)

Redmann, J.M. Intersection of Law and Desire. 1995 (sexual assault)

Rice, Luanne. Stone Heart. 1990 (domestic violence)

Sarton, May. As We Are Now. 1973 (elder abuse)

Scott, Paul. The Jewel in the Crown. 1966. (sexual assault)

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of King Lear. 1607 (elder abuse; a play)

Shreve, Anita. Strange Fits of Passion. 1991 (domestic violence)

Simons, Paullina. Tully. 1994 (child abuse)

Strout, Elizabeth. Amy and Isabelle. 1998 (sexual assault)

Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. 1989. (sexual assault)

Tilly, Meg. Singing Songs. 1994 (child abuse)

Tyler, Anne. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. 1982 (child abuse)

Updike, John. The Poorhouse Fair. 1959 (child abuse)

Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. 1982 (incest)

Wells, Rebecca. Little Altars Everywhere. 1992 (child abuse)

Wharton, Edith. Summer. 1917 (child abuse, sexual abuse)