About The Victim

Luis Fominaya Parra

The Victim is a complete novel by Luis Fominaya Parra, free to read online at the-victim.com. It is about 87,500 words long, in four chapters (The house, Friends, Ascent and Victory) divided into 80 short sections. Its narrator, a cold and calculating young woman adopted into a wealthy family, learns that presenting herself as the victim wins her sympathy, deflects blame and opens doors, and she rides that discovery all the way into national politics. It is a political satire about tokenism, public opinion, social justice and ambition, written for adult readers.

What is The Victim about?

The Victim is a free political satire by Luis Fominaya Parra. Narrated in first person, the main character calls herself the token daughter of a wealthy family. She plays along while it suits her, then learns how much she can get by casting herself as the victim. As her ambitions grow, she uses identity, public sympathy and social justice to discredit her enemies and climb to power.

How is it structured?

The novel has four chapters, each divided into short sections of around 1,100 words that can be read in a few minutes.

Chapter One: The house, 13 sections. A wealthy family casts its adopted daughter as proof of its virtue. She sees how useful the role can be and starts playing it to her own advantage.
Chapter Two: Friends, 26 sections. The narrator joins a political movement and helps turn an injured friend’s story into publicity. She soon sees what public outrage can do for her.
Chapter Three: Ascent, 28 sections. The narrator discovers how far public sympathy can carry her. As she rises in politics, she casts scrutiny of her own actions as persecution.
Chapter Four: Victory, 13 sections. The narrator and her allies make a bid for the White House. As old accusations resurface, she puts the story of her own victimhood to the test.

Who are the main characters?

The narrator: An unnamed young woman adopted into a wealthy family, who tells the story herself. Cold and calculating, she learns early that being seen as the victim brings sympathy, protection and power.

Mother: The narrator’s wealthy adoptive mother: charming in public, alcoholic and dangerous at home. Her secrets shape the narrator’s childhood.

The roommate: A passionate young activist whose speeches electrify the movement, and whose political career the narrator helps build.

Uncle: The head of a powerful political family. He becomes the narrator’s patron, and she studies him as closely as he studies her.

What are its themes?

Tokenism · Performed victimhood · Public opinion · Political ambition · Weaponization of social justice

Content notes

The Victim is written for adults. It contains murder, violence involving children, drunk driving, sexual assault allegations, political violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and racist and offensive language from its characters.

Why is it called The Victim?

The title of The Victim refers to the part its narrator plays. A cold, calculating young woman makes herself look wronged so that other people will excuse her, defend her, or go after someone on her behalf. The better she gets at playing that part, the more power she can ask for.

She introduces herself as the token daughter of a wealthy family. That’s the first bargain she describes to the reader. The family gets to look inclusive, and she expects them to pay for her education. What interests her is how much more she can get once she starts deciding which story other people hear.

She tells the novel herself, and she can make the reader feel like a confidant. She’ll show you how she misleads someone in one scene and still leave you with a version of events that serves her. That’s part of the pleasure of going back to the opening chapter after reading the end. The reading guide follows that pattern across the novel and marks spoilers.