King of the World: A Novel a Novel

There are many important books that have been written by and about women who have been the victims of domestic violence but I think this is the only one that takes readers not only into the experience of the victim, but of the victimizer to let the reader understand how someone can behave that way and still have self-esteem and into various other family members of the victim to let us see how damaging the bahvior is to an entire family system. The writing is compelling and all of the characters, including the abuser, come alive and arouse reader sympathy. For anyone who has experienced d.v. or who wonders "why doesn't she leave" this is THE book. Every public library should have this important book because if you are the victim of d.v. it might not be safe to have this book in your home. Every d.v. shelter should make this book required reading for its counsellors. It is incredibly powerful.