nerdyrev's review
4.0
When I began this book, I wasn't enjoying it and thought I should put it down. When I got to Part 2, the book picks up a ton and I really started to enjoy it more and more to the point I am excited to buy it once the book is released.
This is the story of Lizzie Borden who, as legend goes, killed both her step mother and father with an ax and then called the police on herself. She supposedly killed them with tons of witnesses around and was released following her trial. She then moves back home and becomes an outcast to the town she lived in all her life. That is not a spoiler, but rather history.
The book is told from various perspectives- Lizzie's, her sister Emma, the maid Bridget, the uncle, and her uncle's "friend"- Benjamin. Lizzie and the murders are obviously the center of this book, but the book gives a story that Lizzie wasn't involved in the murders and comes up with an alternative suspect, but it is hard to dismiss Lizzie. She has different stories, can't quite remember things well, and has a strange relationship with her sister-almost obsessive. It is the different perspectives that make the story fun.
I gave this one 4 stars and will probably re-read it in its final format.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me access to this book early. I received it in exchange for an honest review.
This is the story of Lizzie Borden who, as legend goes, killed both her step mother and father with an ax and then called the police on herself. She supposedly killed them with tons of witnesses around and was released following her trial. She then moves back home and becomes an outcast to the town she lived in all her life. That is not a spoiler, but rather history.
The book is told from various perspectives- Lizzie's, her sister Emma, the maid Bridget, the uncle, and her uncle's "friend"- Benjamin. Lizzie and the murders are obviously the center of this book, but the book gives a story that Lizzie wasn't involved in the murders and comes up with an alternative suspect, but it is hard to dismiss Lizzie. She has different stories, can't quite remember things well, and has a strange relationship with her sister-almost obsessive. It is the different perspectives that make the story fun.
I gave this one 4 stars and will probably re-read it in its final format.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me access to this book early. I received it in exchange for an honest review.
byashleylamar's review
2.0
As soon as I finished See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt I thought of a quote by Dr. Seuss.
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss
I thought, “No Dr., in this case, I’m crying because it’s over and I’m crying tears of joy! If you follow me on social media then you probably know how much I have struggled with this book since I started reading it three weeks ago. I wanted to like it.; truly I did. When I first picked it up, I wanted to read it then rave about it on social media and my blog. But, I’ll be damned if this book didn’t bore me to sleep almost every single night. I came up with excuses for it and claimed I was simply too tired to read. That was fine at first but when it happened night after night after night I had to admit it wasn’t me, it was the book.
Sarah Schmidt is an amazing writer, no doubt about it. Her descriptions are intense and when the occasion was right, they were stomach-churning. Everything from the crime scene to the weird family relationships had just the right amount of ick factor. It was enough to make me cringe but not enough to turn me away. The horrible awkwardness was perfect but the story didn’t go anywhere. I kept hoping for the plot to be as good as the descriptive setting but it never did.
Every chapter in See What I Have Done is written from a different POV. We have Lizzie, Emma (the sister), Bridget (the maid), and Benjamin (Uncle John’s hired…assassin?). It was really disjointed as we hop from character to character. Sometimes the book retells the same scene from a different POV and sometimes it’s a completely different moment. There was never really any clarity into who Benjamin was and what Uncle John wanted him to do. I mean, was he hired to kill Mr. Borden? Was he just supposed to scare him? Was he an assassin? I mean, what was his deal?!
The whole time I was reading this book I wanted Schmidt to take a stand. This is supposed to be a work of fiction yet it felt like she just regurgitated facts and filled in random details without ever giving us a complete story. *SPOILER* There is no ending. She takes no stand. We have no idea who this tale claims killed Mr. and Mrs. Borden. Maybe that was my problem with this book. I wanted a conclusion and I wanted Schmidt to take a stand with her opinion on what happened. Whether she went with Lizzie being the murderer or she opted to pursue the theories that Bridget (the maid) or Benjamin (the intruder) killed them, didn’t matter. I wanted to see her do historical research, come to her own conclusion, and give her readers a complete journey as she imagined it happening. Instead, we got a half-told story from 4 perspectives that ultimately led nowhere.
Then again, what do I know? Other people loved it.
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss
I thought, “No Dr., in this case, I’m crying because it’s over and I’m crying tears of joy! If you follow me on social media then you probably know how much I have struggled with this book since I started reading it three weeks ago. I wanted to like it.; truly I did. When I first picked it up, I wanted to read it then rave about it on social media and my blog. But, I’ll be damned if this book didn’t bore me to sleep almost every single night. I came up with excuses for it and claimed I was simply too tired to read. That was fine at first but when it happened night after night after night I had to admit it wasn’t me, it was the book.
Sarah Schmidt is an amazing writer, no doubt about it. Her descriptions are intense and when the occasion was right, they were stomach-churning. Everything from the crime scene to the weird family relationships had just the right amount of ick factor. It was enough to make me cringe but not enough to turn me away. The horrible awkwardness was perfect but the story didn’t go anywhere. I kept hoping for the plot to be as good as the descriptive setting but it never did.
Every chapter in See What I Have Done is written from a different POV. We have Lizzie, Emma (the sister), Bridget (the maid), and Benjamin (Uncle John’s hired…assassin?). It was really disjointed as we hop from character to character. Sometimes the book retells the same scene from a different POV and sometimes it’s a completely different moment. There was never really any clarity into who Benjamin was and what Uncle John wanted him to do. I mean, was he hired to kill Mr. Borden? Was he just supposed to scare him? Was he an assassin? I mean, what was his deal?!
The whole time I was reading this book I wanted Schmidt to take a stand. This is supposed to be a work of fiction yet it felt like she just regurgitated facts and filled in random details without ever giving us a complete story. *SPOILER* There is no ending. She takes no stand. We have no idea who this tale claims killed Mr. and Mrs. Borden. Maybe that was my problem with this book. I wanted a conclusion and I wanted Schmidt to take a stand with her opinion on what happened. Whether she went with Lizzie being the murderer or she opted to pursue the theories that Bridget (the maid) or Benjamin (the intruder) killed them, didn’t matter. I wanted to see her do historical research, come to her own conclusion, and give her readers a complete journey as she imagined it happening. Instead, we got a half-told story from 4 perspectives that ultimately led nowhere.
Then again, what do I know? Other people loved it.
hal8752's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
jordanbro1993's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
kaytemi's review against another edition
3.0
2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
#6 read a novel based on a real person
This was a fairly difficult book for me to read, not due to the content, but the writing style. I really did not like the way Schmidt dealt with the timeline of the story, there was so much flipping back and forth throughout the novel, it made me a little dizzy. I do however appreciate when an author does something different, but this just didn't work for me. If you can keep track of everything though, it's definitely a worthwhile read.
I love mysteries in history and that a novel has been written about Lizzie Borden. I've been itching to get into this one for ages, but it just didn't quite hit the spot for me. I definitely didn't hate it, but I really didn't love it either.
#6 read a novel based on a real person
This was a fairly difficult book for me to read, not due to the content, but the writing style. I really did not like the way Schmidt dealt with the timeline of the story, there was so much flipping back and forth throughout the novel, it made me a little dizzy. I do however appreciate when an author does something different, but this just didn't work for me. If you can keep track of everything though, it's definitely a worthwhile read.
I love mysteries in history and that a novel has been written about Lizzie Borden. I've been itching to get into this one for ages, but it just didn't quite hit the spot for me. I definitely didn't hate it, but I really didn't love it either.
monicalaurette's review
While I’m interested in the unsolved Borden case, I didn’t like this fictional take. It almost felt wrong to make up what the characters would have been thinking at those times, and I just don’t like John either.
I’ll just stick to true crime stuff if I want more on Lizzie Borden.
I’ll just stick to true crime stuff if I want more on Lizzie Borden.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, and Medical content
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, Abandonment, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy
shmagenls88's review
2.0
This story was very repetitive, relying heavily on the authors description of smells and awkwardly stylized writing. I delved into the story and followed the supportive characters perspectives, but was left without any development of them. The vocabulary was repetitive and seemed limited, leaving the authors descriptions seeming frivolous but bland. I was hoping for so much more.
geeniebean29's review
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sadiereadsagain's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't know anything about the Borden murders (still don't, beyond what I read in this book), so I came to this fresh. I thought it was such an intriguing story, and I liked how the finger never settled exactly on one person and left it open to interpretation as to the range of motives. It shows that even if there is an accepted version, there are always multiple possibilities. Sometimes the writing style jarred me, just a few sentences which needed a bit of polishing, but overall I enjoyed it.