A review by myrtosfullybooked
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 The book was an okay read but I was not blown away. The writing is good, even beautiful at points and the plot is to some extent interesting. Though I'm not a fan of true crime as a genre, I've enjoyed seeing more works reclaiming victims' voices and critiquing the romanticisation of serial killers. Allegedly, this book aimed to do the same by focusing on the narratives of three women associated in different ways with Ansel Packer, a serial killer awaiting execution. This goal, for me, was not really reflected in the actual story. Yes, we read about the three women and they each have a number of chapters focused on them but Ansel always feels like the main character. For me the chapters focusing on him, his thoughts, and his struggles end up overshadowing the female characters in the story. I liked the fact that Kukafka didn’t seek to pass moral judgment on Ansel, who clearly struggled with developmental trauma and a sociopathic lack of empathy; someone who could have had a different life with the appropriate support in place. She didn’t make him outright evil, a reminder that serial killers can look completely ordinary, charming even, as we well know from real-life cases. I will acknowledge that the way Ansel is written serves as a great reminder to stop glorifying or looking for meaning in horrific acts of violence -primarily perpetrated by men. All that said, I did not love the writing in Ansel’s chapters and struggled to remain interested in the storyline. The story is overall character-driven but there is no major character development in case that is what you are after. Also, I read that the author wanted the book to be a statement against the US penal system and the death penalty. I 100% support that agenda. People like Ansel most of the time just need more appropriate support; simply killing instead of rehabilitating them just feels like a weird cheat for any justice system. Yet, I am not sure how (if at all) such a topic can be compatible with the goal of not focusing on Ansel and emphasising the women characters' narratives. I felt that this attempt ended up spreading the book a bit too thin with both aspects ending up weaker for it.
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