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vaykay's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Police brutality, and Car accident
klandry98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Medical content, Stalking, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Alcohol
faelorn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
In this book, we follow a small array of characters: Ansel, Hazel, Lavender, and Saffron/Saffy. Ansel's portions are told in first person, whereas all the other characters are told in third person - an important detail we'll get back to later. Each character is connected to Ansel in some way, and descriptions of the them are as follows:
Ansel: The murderer preparing for/coming to terms with his execution
Hazel: The sister of Ansel's previous partner
Lavender: Ansel's mother
Saffron: The detective following Ansel's case
All of these characters have a good, unique feel and voice to them. Danya Kukafka does an amazing job at keeping their actions consistent - and explaining why they stray from the expected when they do. Despite the book being focused on Ansel and the crimes he committed, the characters have their own set of issues and feel full beyond him. With that small description of the characters out of the way, let's get onto the book itself:
The Good:
•This book is amazing at making you feel. Danya Kukafka is great at evoking emotion - from the gravity of serious scenes to the raw feeling within the thoughts of their characters. There are points where you find yourself feeling bad for Ansel and then about ten pages later, you can't imagine ever liking him. This book runs your emotions in circles, and by the end of it you are forced to face them. The use of first and second person really helps drive this point home. You are placed directly into the shoes of Ansel, afraid and hurt. You feel for him in his chapters, only to face detailed descriptions of the horrible things he has done in the next chapter. It surprises you, and normally makes you look at Ansel with both more disgust and kindness than you would just reading his crimes, depending on what part of the book you are in.
•Another thing Notes On An Execution does well is using it's time. The reader is supplied with a good amount of mysteries and story plots to keep them interested. A lot of the time, a book held over a short period of time (like the hours before an execution in Ansel's portions) struggle with pacing: everything either happens entirely too fast or at a snail's pace. Separating this time with snippets from the past or the actions of other characters help a lot here. There is also plenty of routine procedures explained in these portions that help the reader have a general knowledge of when they are, even without looking at the time remaining shown at the top of each Ansel chapter. The pacing for the other character's chapters are also really good, it feels like you're missing the fluff but getting to the important bits in all of it in a really satisfying way. There is still suspense and anticipation in Ansel getting caught and how he does, but it moves at a satisfying rate.
•The diversity in this book is also great! We have a character of color and a queer character in the main lineup. The queer character also doesn't go by any labels which I personally really appreciate. It's simply treated as part of her.
• Not forgetting the victims and people it affects. This book focuses on the people left in the wake, and reminds you of the importance of women harmed. It is beautiful to see these characters explore life after.
• Thought Provoking: you're challenged to outline exactly what makes a human. Is he human despite not being capable of feeling love? What amount of emotional unawareness makes us uncomfortable? How much can we forgive when the perpetrator is truly damaged? It makes the reader face so many different kinds of humans and questionable feelings. You're meant to analyze every character for who they are and the decisions they've made. If their experiences justify their mistakes is left to the reader entirely.
The Bad:
•There really isn't much bad about this book. There are a few moments where characters or settings feel a little off in one way or another (such as Lavender's commune, which I was certain was going to be revealed as a cult), but it really doesn't take too much from the experience.
The Iffy:
•Ansel's theory. It's hard to tell while reading if his theory is going to be important come the crux of the story. He mentions it constantly, yet you rarely get many details about it. I feel as though it could've been a great detail in this book, but just barely misses the mark.
•I also feel as though Saffron fell just a little short on the racial commentary she was meant to be. While this book is diverse in characters and does lightly speak on the struggles people of color, especially women of color, face in the workforce, it feels like a distant side plot at most. I completely understand that this wasn't the main focus of the book, but the inclusion of it feels as though it was originally intended to be a much bigger part of the plot than it ends up being.
Did I Cry?:
No, but there was one or two close calls.
Overall:
An amazing book with just a few topics that would've been wonderful to see more of. I would've loved to sink my teeth into more information on the theory or the way that racism is baked into the police force in this book. Beautiful pacing and will leave you questioning what you're willing to forgive and who you're willing to feel bad for at the end. Phenomenal read that anyone interested should absolutely give a try. Just heed the trigger warnings, as a lot of heavy topics are discussed.
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
lucygrayswife's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexual violence
mand_al_orian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
zoea08's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
falibat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
jesliwen's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child abuse
Minor: Alcoholism, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
liurhonda's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Pros: the set up of the novel and pacing allows for a page turner mystery/thriller. Has some good plot twists, and I liked the range of characters included.
Cons: It's ironic how the main messaging (or what it attempts to message) of this book is that female victims are only remembered or highlighted by male perpetrators, while doing so the whole book by he vily centering Ansel/the male perp. We stay in his perspective a lot and the female characters are all quite enamored with him or heavily impacted by him. It makes sense logically but doesn't work with this type of messaging that only comes in at the end, very explicitly. Lots of tell and not show.
Also peppered in the end is a weak, again explicit, critique of the injustice in the prison industrial complex in America. While true, doesn't do anything new, nor does it contribute to the overall messaging of the book. Comes across a bit sloppy and not very impactful. Uses abstract flowery language to describe emotions, atmospheres, etc. too much for my taste. Characters also felt a bit hollow.
(A bit of a spoiler: I also wonder if how Ansel heard voices and how he 'pretends' much of his life alludes to any mental illness? Maybe I missed some implications, but would have loved to see this theme explored a bit more. Or at least this thread wrapped up)
TLDR; Ultimately the messaging/themes of this book where sloppy (some where very ambiguous which I did not like but that's a personal preference) but serves as a good spooky mystery page turner.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
arayo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy