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emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Mum's face.
I can't help thinking she knows what it is to be violated somehow.
I'll never ask.”
I recently watched the recording of Prima Facie and Jodie Comer's performance was exceptional in that. My boyfriend encouraged me to try out audiobooks and so when I saw this one and saw some pretty great reviews around the audiobook I was sold.
I'm so glad I chose to listen as I felt so much more connected with the audiobook than I did the play, and I felt strongly connected to the play already. Comer was able to show the raw emotion so well in her voice and to show all of the different characters' personalities beautifully. I was so moved by the story, one that hits on a personal level and hurts to even think about and acknowledge as the harsh reality of our judicial system. Tessa is such an amazing female protagonist that has such a strong attitude that it's hard not to love her, and other characters leave a deep impression alongside her - I especially loved the unexpected friendships she picked up along the way and how Miller developed these throughout the plot. The themes throughout are moving, such as class discrimination, sexism, feminism and the harsh reality of being a SA victim within England & Wales' judicial system, and they are all touched on in a way that is thorough, thought-provoking and devastating all at once. This audiobook was able to make me feel such strong emotions at points, especially towards the end.
Considering that the play sits with me often and haunted me throughout my time at university when I briefly considered involving myself in criminal justice matters, I expect the audiobook to have the same if not a more profound impact on my thoughts. The fact of one in three expressed in Tessa's monologue is so heartbreaking but a harsh reality check, one that more people need to be aware of. Tessa's monologue in general deserves major recognition here as her speech highlights the change we need, and we need it soon. I think if that kind of speech did occur in the Old Bailey (and it was also a case between two highly regarded barristers) it probably would garner some media attention as it did here, and maybe pick up some traction, and maybe (probably not) some change would be seen. But this play helps to shed light on reality and the law we currently abide by, and how it isn't working to provide the one thing it's meant to provide - justice.
Definitely recommend, and must-read for those interested in feminist literature and (niche) law students/those interested in the law. ⚖️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Cursing, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Vomit, Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Classism
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i cried so fucking hard at the ending of this book, fuck im going to have to process this one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault
Moderate: Domestic abuse
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
This was so well written - definitely a hard read (be sure to check trigger warnings before starting) but such an important portrayal of how sexual violence impacts women and the extreme limits of the legal system.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence
dark
fast-paced
Prima Facie is a book adaptation of a recent hit one-woman play written by Suzie Miller, performed by Jodie Comer. Having seen a recording of the stage play over a year ago and being floored by how phenomenal it was, I was intrigued but perplexed upon hearing that the playwright would adapt and elaborate on her brisk 2-act play into a novel. I specifically sought out the audiobook rendition, in which the play's star, Jodie Comer, returns as the main character and narrator.
It's too difficult to assemble my thoughts in a way which evaluates this novel independently from its originating stage play, and separates the written words from the audio performance so I'm not even going to try. This is a frank and blunt story of a criminal defence lawyer, her rape and experiences with her brave decision to hold her rapist to account by the same laws, courts and institutions she used to acquit so many over her own accused clients (many also being sexual-assault cases). It's a story told with an exacting measure of familiarity with the law and the psychological turmoil of rape victims; for these ambitions alone might be worth a read. There are brutal parts in the book, very powerful, very affecting and without adornment or refinement.
However, this book (in audio form) is more than five times the duration of the original stage play and not only does it not deliver anything beyond the original play, it has actually made me re-evaluate what I thought of the play in the first place: namely that the brilliance of the play was carried far more by Jodie Comer's stage performance than the strengths of the text. I originally thought this piece of theatre was better positioned for novelization than most, since it is delivered with a single distinct voice and perspective, told entirely as an aside with at least as many words directly transposable to prose as those to dialogue. But where clipped directness of words works when associated with live performance, it fares less well on page. I'm not sure if the following are present in the stage play, but the need to forthrightly declare the emotional state of the main character is maddening to read. Some unaltered examples are as follows:
It's too difficult to assemble my thoughts in a way which evaluates this novel independently from its originating stage play, and separates the written words from the audio performance so I'm not even going to try. This is a frank and blunt story of a criminal defence lawyer, her rape and experiences with her brave decision to hold her rapist to account by the same laws, courts and institutions she used to acquit so many over her own accused clients (many also being sexual-assault cases). It's a story told with an exacting measure of familiarity with the law and the psychological turmoil of rape victims; for these ambitions alone might be worth a read. There are brutal parts in the book, very powerful, very affecting and without adornment or refinement.
However, this book (in audio form) is more than five times the duration of the original stage play and not only does it not deliver anything beyond the original play, it has actually made me re-evaluate what I thought of the play in the first place: namely that the brilliance of the play was carried far more by Jodie Comer's stage performance than the strengths of the text. I originally thought this piece of theatre was better positioned for novelization than most, since it is delivered with a single distinct voice and perspective, told entirely as an aside with at least as many words directly transposable to prose as those to dialogue. But where clipped directness of words works when associated with live performance, it fares less well on page. I'm not sure if the following are present in the stage play, but the need to forthrightly declare the emotional state of the main character is maddening to read. Some unaltered examples are as follows:
- I feel angry.
- I feel scared.
- I feel humiliated.
- I feel anxious.
- I feel so sad.
The worst part about the above is that these usually precede sentences very decently illustrating her state of mind, making these silly preceding statements entirely unnecessary. The book as a whole suffers a lot from a feeling of repetition; very few of its elaborations on the play feel insightful. Side characters who were formerly afforded only a sentence or two, have a bit more prominent role (the brother, Adam and Alice). But they never transcend their obvious purposes as avatars for various tangents (guilt of social mobility, male positivity, and internalized misogyny respectively).
I also have a problem with how the acute gut punch during the voir dire towards the end of the story is muted by the new medium. Having emphasized the role of barristers as storytellers to the captive jury, the decision to have the main character, Tessa, makes an elaborate monologue absent of the jury. The play presents this as an untameable outburst of emotion that has been building since Tessa's assault and it is made clear that her words are not for the judge in some legal capacity than for the audience - the audience who she has been talking to the entire time, and yet it never felt conscious, motivated or acknowledged until that moment. But the novel doesn't (or perhaps CAN'T) simulate this feeling exactly; we aren't staring at a human performance (even the disembodied narration is no substitute). This theatre-specific moment and would require some textual creativity to try and reach the same emotional beats. So lacking this, the moment loses its stunning power and instead becomes a hopeless vaguely targeted statement against the system. Here a shallow surrogate of the audience, a court reporter, makes limited success in salvaging the play's crowning fourth-wall moment in a book-specific epilogue.
Reading this is not like Shakespeare or Chekov or Tom Stoppard or even Martin McDonagh plays. All Prima Facie's power rests in its delivery. And the delivery here (reminder: from the same actor) is wildly different from the original performance and undermines the story. The brash, confident projection of the theatrical performance is exchanged for a soft, subdued, reflective audio performance that carries this tone throughout the entire novel. I guess it makes sense to take advantage of a medium which in some ways is more forgiving and intimate, but this choice sabotages the emotional impact of the novel. The stage play allows us to see that what happens to the main character and how it utterly transforms her, not only in terms of the plot but in her voice and in her physical performance. The novel follows the plays vivid first-person present-tense style, but the narration almost serves as a past-tense recounting - the sadness of the narrator's tone fits the character she becomes after the event, but not who she is for the first half of the event. There is no subtextual juxtaposition here book is much weaker for it.
This book's story remains important but it's painfully obvious that this is a book working against its own medium (a weakness I would assume most novelizations share), and is best experienced on the stage. If one has access to National Theatre Live at Home, seek out the recording of this play, which is invariably superior rendition of this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Powerful reflection of the law and it’s flaws - couldn’t put this book down
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence
Moderate: Violence, Vomit
Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Classism
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i am not tessa ensler, yet the the way suzie miller wrote the narrative transported me into tessa's body. i could feel her sadness, her rage, her shame, every bit of emotion she felt. i was her. i've been in her position. sadly, a lot of women have been there too. suzie miller also does an excellent job of making the readers question the law and justice—is it really just if it is only in the hands of the powerful?
it's an amazing read! would definitely recommend BUT it will be triggering. so please read this in a good headspace :)
it's an amazing read! would definitely recommend BUT it will be triggering. so please read this in a good headspace :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault
Minor: Vomit