Docile

Docile is a swirling vortex of abuse, non-consensual sex, and money. It is an uncomfortable read that has left me dumbfounded. This isn't a romance, although I have seen it touted that way. It isn't a BDSM story because nowhere in this story is the most important aspect of BDSM, and that is the ability to say no. Yes, Elisha is given a safeword, but when your future and your family's future is swirled up in your ability to give over a choice, it isn't BDSM; it is coercion. 

This is an uncomfortable story that has left a bad taste in my mouth and a raw and worn spot on my soul. 

Docile is the story of a young man named Elisha. Elisha is the oldest son in a family of debtors. As a means to save his family from debtors prison, Elisha agrees to enter the debt cancelation program where he signs over a certain amount of life in the service to his patron. This patron, in turn, pays off the agreed-upon debt. The catch is that in this indentured servitude, the debtor takes a drug that removes all of their ability to make choices or desire to care. The patron has full control of every aspect of their property. This can include sexual abuse. It is a part date rape drug/heavy duty benzodiazepine that the debtee takes every day during term. The quirk of this particular story is that Elisha refuses the medication, which is one of the few rights afforded to people entering this program. This is based on his experience with his mother Abigail becoming stunted and mentally broken as an aftereffect of the drug. 

As their relationship progresses the lines of control blend. Alex exercises his ability to inflict punishment for infractions, even if they are minor. And, Elisha begins to lose his ability to see beyond his master, Alex. Love is spoken about. But can you love someone who has given up their free will, and conversely love someone who has taken it?

This story is told from the perspective of two points of view, Elisha, the debtee, and Alex Bishop, his patron. This story is touted as a dystopian queer romance? I had a difficult time suspending disbelief that any of this was palatable or even possible. Elisha is such a meek and timid character in the first place; it didn't seem like much of a stretch that he was brainwashed into a permanent sub position. Alex was a much more believable character, but again I had a difficult time stomaching his point of view. I could not get past the graphic sex scenes set in the context of a lack of consent. Alex is never mean to Elisha, but Elisha cannot say no. Thus no matter how you dress up the novel in love and pretty words, it is still a lack of consent and was not a pleasant read for me.

However, uncomfortable or not, this story is well written and achieves its goals. I think of it much like A Clockwork Orange. Hard as hell to read and uncomfortable, I won't be rereading it, but I can appreciate the detail and written skill it took to pull it together. 

I can understand it, but I do not like it.