"Good Kings, Bad Kings" Book Review by Andrea Northrup
“Good Kings, Bad Kings” examines life inside a nursing home for disabled youth from the perspectives of the teens and their caregivers. The author, Susan Nussbaum, wanted to tell disabled stories from their point of view. This novel is literally written from the perspective of each of the different characters with their own vernacular to boot- akin to a diary (a format I love and find easy to read). The author became a wheelchair user later in life and even though she never was in an institution, she wrote that she did a lot of research.
The title, “Good Kings, Bad Kings,” comes from a story Nussbaum read during her research for the book about a young boy who died after an aide at his institution killed him by sitting on him exclaiming, “I can be a good king or I can be a bad king.” The young disabled characters are intertwined with their caretakers in complex relationships. The novel highlights the dependence institutionalized people have on their caretakers- at their mercy every second of the day.
I found this book to be a page-turner with new twists on each page. Even though readers find the characters going through literal hell, we get to see development where characters learn to fight back. I will say that I’m unsure of the accuracy and am open to hearing criticism of how the novel uses disability and ethnicity to make its point.
Warning that this novel does include sexual/physical abuse.
The title, “Good Kings, Bad Kings,” comes from a story Nussbaum read during her research for the book about a young boy who died after an aide at his institution killed him by sitting on him exclaiming, “I can be a good king or I can be a bad king.” The young disabled characters are intertwined with their caretakers in complex relationships. The novel highlights the dependence institutionalized people have on their caretakers- at their mercy every second of the day.
I found this book to be a page-turner with new twists on each page. Even though readers find the characters going through literal hell, we get to see development where characters learn to fight back. I will say that I’m unsure of the accuracy and am open to hearing criticism of how the novel uses disability and ethnicity to make its point.
Warning that this novel does include sexual/physical abuse.