Important story change for returning readers.
(If you haven’t already read HGDYT, please disregard this, as it contains spoilers for book 1)
I would like to inform returning readers of a significant change to the story, i.e. the circumstances and type of abuse Lewis faced under Ivan.
Please know that I am in no way doing this to make Ivan seem less evil. He is still just as horrible of a human being. This is simply to adjust Lewis’s character development, backstory, and motivations, as well as Armen’s, and to remove any unnecessarily graphic imagery. It’s bad enough these experiences were happening to a child, they don’t need to be as violent as previously portrayed. So I am sightly lessening the severity of his traumatic experiences.
So, in this remake here are the changes being made regarding this:
- Lewis was not physically beaten by Ivan. Only Armen was. However there was some mild physical force used occasionally (Shoving, gripping, etc)
- Lewis’s s*xual abuse was through grooming and coercion, rather than threats, force, and violence. “Gratitude” was a common manipulation theme in the Mink household. (Think of it more as Lewis being made to feel obligated to “earn his keep”)
-This is why Lewis has a fear of being indebted to people or owing them favors, yet will use his body as “sweetener” in business deals. His abuse completely warped his perception of social interactions.
- Lewis did not learn of Ivan’s responsibility for his parents death until he was 17
-Ivan’s blatant and overall racism has been slightly reduced and is now primarily targeted towards Black people and Black inner-city culture.
- Armen never speaks of his mother, as he was forbidden to, and Lewis has no idea what her name is or what she even looked like, as Ivan removed all photographic records of her and Armen keeps the last existing photo of her locked away.
Thanks for reading! More updates coming soon.