Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson: a book review

‘Speak’ is a young adult novel (1999) by Laurie Anderson that follows the protagonist, Melinda, a high school freshman. A graphical novel adaptation with hauntingly beautiful illustration by Emily Carroll was published in 2018. Before she starts high school, she is raped by a senior student at a party. She calls the police which causes the party to end and in doing so is ostracised by her peers. Speak is written in the style of a first-person narrative, so we see events unfold through Melinda’s perspective only. Even though this book was published in 1999, I feel it portrays an intense and familiar perspective of misogyny and discrimination that still exists today. I personally found this book to be very well written and easy to read and follow. This book is full of symbolism and is so descriptive, that I can vividly see Melinda as a misplaced figure in a colourful contextual background as she struggles to cope with not only the rape but also being subsequently shunned and misunderstood by those around her and those she once was close to. The graphical novel follows the exact phrasing of the original novel but presents it in a comic format.

Content warnings: Both the novel and the illustrations show sexual assault/rape, PTSD, self-harm and victim shaming.

Book excerpt from the recently adapted illustrated version of Speak (2018)

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Please note the rest of my review will contain a few quotes from the book. While there will be no intentional attempts at revealing the plot, if you feel that this will affect your reading of the book, look away now.

The world Melinda lives in is descriptively and graphically portrayed as a first-person narrative. Much of the narrative is based on what Melinda is thinking. She hardly speaks. She is detached from the world and as she observes and narrates the events around her, she continues to struggle with the assault. From the narration you have a view of the misogynistic and discriminatory world she lives in.

At the start of the book, we don’t know what causes the hostility of others towards Melinda. The author leans us into it as you continue reading the chapters. Melinda is bound with a secret and we are not sure what it (IT) is. Several nuances hint towards the nature of the secret but it is not clarified until later.

“IT is my nightmare and I can’t wake up. “

This secretive nature of the first chapters reflects Melinda trying to hide what happened to her. As the chapters progress, so does Melinda. We are slowly introduced to the concept that Melinda was assaulted and raped. This is a reflective account of her coming to terms with what happened and towards the end of the book realising that the secret cannot be contained any longer.

Her interest in artwork and the “tree” is incredibly symbolic and is a raw attribute of mental escapism.

“A strong old oak tree with a wide scarred trunk and thousands of leaves reaching to the sun.”

Art follows her throughout the book. The connection of art and her mental struggle is loudly declared to the reader by her art teacher in one of the first chapters,

“Welcome to the journey.”

Melinda’s silence is vividly depicted by her lips. There are constant references about the state of her lips.

“She’s creepy. What’s wrong with her lips? It looks like she’s got a disease or something.”

“A thousand bleeding, crusted lips push back.”

In one of the central chapters, the readers are presented with an obvious and explicit representation of her secret when she watches her peer pinning a frog down during a biology dissecting class.

“David pins her froggy hands to the dissection tray. He spreads her froggy legs and pins her froggy feet…

..She doesn’t say a word. She is already dead”

The style in which the secret is introduced to the readers is incredibly raw and graphic.

Melinda continuous to struggle with the concept of speaking out. Throughout the central chapters we follow Melinda’s pros and cons to speaking out in various symbolic gestures.

“The whole class yells at Rachel/Rachelle in the hall. That’s what you get for speaking up.”

“Would you listen? Would you believe me? Fat chance.”

“You can’t speak up for your right to be silent. That’s letting the bad guys win.”

As the book progress, plants are again chosen to reflect Melinda’s circumstance. In this example we see her negative reflection of herself (inefficient), that the plant can be attacked, pertaining to her experience of rape and assault. Words such as choked and rooted are an echo of her ordeal but at the same time also express her silence (asphyxiated).

“What seeds need to germinate: Seeds are inefficient. If the seed is planted too deep, it doesn’t warm up at the right time. Plant it too close to the surface and a crow eats it. Too much rain and the seed molds. Not enough rain and it never gets started. Even if it does manage to sprout, it can be choked by weeds, rooted up by a dog, mashed by a soccer ball, or asphyxiated by car exhaust.

It’s amazing anything survives.”

At the same time, we see Melinda’s growth in the face of adversity and for the first time, a direct positive reflection of herself. Her viewpoint has changed from hiding away to the possibility that strength can emerge from struggle. This is shown below.

“But plants are cool. If the rose is picked, the plant grows another one. It needs to bloom to produce more seeds.

I am going to ace this test.”

As we approach the end of the book, it becomes clear that Melinda will eventually confront her rapist. I found this section suspenseful, triggering and powerful. From her silent prison arose a strong character proving that she is can stand up to the attacker. I felt that this provides a profound catharsis to the reader.

The next section is a definitive spoiler/reveal. Please look away now if you feel that this will affect your reading of the book.

I would like to share my favourite and poignant part of the book. At some point in the book Melinda befriends Ivy. For therapeutic release, they start a thread on the bathroom stall wall. They write on it

“GUYS TO STAY AWAY FROM

Andy Evans”

Sometime later, Ivy asks Melinda to join her at the stall where others have taken it upon themselves to add to this statement.

He’s a creep.

He’s a bastard.

Stay away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He should be locked up.

He thinks he’s all that.

Call the cops.

What’s the name of that drug they give perverts so they can’t get it up?

Diprosomething.

He should get it every morning in his orange juice. I went out with him to the movies–he tried to get his hands down my pants during the PREVIEWS!!

There’s more. Different pens, different handwriting, conversations between some writers, arrows to longer paragraphs. It’s better than taking out a billboard.

I found this particularly moving. Writing that anonymous message on the wall prompted more people to come forward and share their experiences. The expression “writing on the wall” is used whenever an inevitable danger has become apparent. The basis of #offmychest has similar sentiments to this concept of writing on the wall.