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A review by shostakofish
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- 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
I have a complicated relationship with True Crime style media. One the one hand: It's deeply interesting and a look into very real issues society sometimes would rather ignore. On the other hand it's rife with exploitation, and often falls into the trap of glorifying male violence and reducing women to objects violence is inflicted on.
This book does a fantastic job avoiding those pitfalls. It takes a nuanced look at a killer and the women in his life including those he kills. Every single one is shown as a full human, with their first person perspectives allowing for depth and introspection. Each character is biased in their own realistic ways but the book as a whole takes a determinately neutral stance on the issues it brings up, allowing the reader to form their own opinions on things like male violence, the prison system and death penalty, mental health support, and media for murder.
This book does a fantastic job avoiding those pitfalls. It takes a nuanced look at a killer and the women in his life including those he kills. Every single one is shown as a full human, with their first person perspectives allowing for depth and introspection. Each character is biased in their own realistic ways but the book as a whole takes a determinately neutral stance on the issues it brings up, allowing the reader to form their own opinions on things like male violence, the prison system and death penalty, mental health support, and media for murder.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Stalking, and Murder