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novelvisits's review
4.0
My Thoughts: When Sarah Perry was only 12-years old, she experienced an event more horrific than many of us could imagine, much less survive. In the middle of the night Sarah awoke to arguing, screaming, and a fierce struggle that left her mother dead. Sarah’s description of that night and the days that followed left me heartbroken for her.
After the Eclipse follows two different storylines that converged in Perry’s memoir. The first, a daughter’s unwavering devotion to her mother, began even before the murder and continues still. Sarah, the only child of single-mother, Crystal, had an uncanny awareness of her mother’s moods, and flawed relationships as she approached her teenage years. After the murder, and as Sarah grew older, she never wavered in her love for her mother even as she was able to look honestly at all sides of Crystal. For me, Perry’s honesty became the shining star of her memoir. She examined her extended family, the police investigators, and herself under a light that illuminated, yet often cast dark shadows.
The twelve year search for Crystal’s killer was interwoven with Sarah’s own story. The fact that Sarah was in the house when her mother was murdered and that she couldn’t identify the killer haunted Sarah and the police investigators. She was questioned over and over throughout the years and her self-questioning never stopped. Sarah lived in fear of being killed herself, yet she never stopped asking the police to do more. Just as Sarah was building a real life for herself, the killer was finally found leading to a whole new set of questions.
All in all, I liked After the Eclipse very much. As with many nonfiction books, I think it could have been a little more tightly edited. This will be a great book not only those who like memoirs, but also for anyone who enjoys true crime stories. Grade: B
Original Source: https://novelvisits.com/mini-reviews-nonfiction-edition/
After the Eclipse follows two different storylines that converged in Perry’s memoir. The first, a daughter’s unwavering devotion to her mother, began even before the murder and continues still. Sarah, the only child of single-mother, Crystal, had an uncanny awareness of her mother’s moods, and flawed relationships as she approached her teenage years. After the murder, and as Sarah grew older, she never wavered in her love for her mother even as she was able to look honestly at all sides of Crystal. For me, Perry’s honesty became the shining star of her memoir. She examined her extended family, the police investigators, and herself under a light that illuminated, yet often cast dark shadows.
The twelve year search for Crystal’s killer was interwoven with Sarah’s own story. The fact that Sarah was in the house when her mother was murdered and that she couldn’t identify the killer haunted Sarah and the police investigators. She was questioned over and over throughout the years and her self-questioning never stopped. Sarah lived in fear of being killed herself, yet she never stopped asking the police to do more. Just as Sarah was building a real life for herself, the killer was finally found leading to a whole new set of questions.
All in all, I liked After the Eclipse very much. As with many nonfiction books, I think it could have been a little more tightly edited. This will be a great book not only those who like memoirs, but also for anyone who enjoys true crime stories. Grade: B
Original Source: https://novelvisits.com/mini-reviews-nonfiction-edition/
graceazcona's review against another edition
5.0
the most beautifully written book i've read in a minute
courtneygrenada's review
4.0
Okay. So. There’s a lot to unpack here. First of all it feels strange reviewing a memoir, as any criticism of the way a victim tells their account of a tragedy feels inappropriate. Sarah Perry clearly endured and overcame horrific traumas in her life & I want to review the book as an entire work, aside from my empathy for the author.
It was a difficult read for me, and not because of the content. The style of writing was overblown with adverbs, adjectives & intricate details that had me saying “how the hell could she possibly know that!?” under my breath. There were moments I was left wondering if the author did some serious detective work or simply embellished upon memories she had, and it would have been nice for the curious reader to have that information as we went. In the author’s note at the end, I learned that it was perhaps a combination of meticulous research & romanticized embellishment, and we’re never privy to exactly what is what.
I could go on and on with things I struggled with throughout the book, so I think this would make for a great Book Club read—it definitely warrants discussion. All of my criticism aside— It was a good book, a heart wrenching story, and I’m glad I read it.
It was a difficult read for me, and not because of the content. The style of writing was overblown with adverbs, adjectives & intricate details that had me saying “how the hell could she possibly know that!?” under my breath. There were moments I was left wondering if the author did some serious detective work or simply embellished upon memories she had, and it would have been nice for the curious reader to have that information as we went. In the author’s note at the end, I learned that it was perhaps a combination of meticulous research & romanticized embellishment, and we’re never privy to exactly what is what.
I could go on and on with things I struggled with throughout the book, so I think this would make for a great Book Club read—it definitely warrants discussion. All of my criticism aside— It was a good book, a heart wrenching story, and I’m glad I read it.
kelmallo's review
5.0
I am enthralled, captivated, lost, and ultimately found in Sarah Perry's memoir. By the end of the first day, I had already read over 100 pages, if that says anything. Earlier in the year, I had pinned "The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller as my book of the year (a must-read historical fiction novel that is so beautifully told I could cry), however "After the Eclipse" is now putting up a good fight.
Further review to come, as I allow the pages Sarah so beautifully wrote to sink further into me, word by word and line by line.
P.S. - Since I can't seem to add quotes to Goodreads as of yet from Sarah or the book, I'll feature them at the bottom of my review. Again, isn't her writing mesmerizing?!
"But a violent act is an epicenter; it shakes everyone within reach and creates other stories, cracks open the earth and reveals buried secrets. I want those stories, I want those secrets.”
"I had seen what a person could do and I could never unsee it; I was unclean, poisoned. I looked into my pupils in the mirror and there seemed to be no bottom to the black. Just as much as I feared him out in the world, I feared him within me."
"Almost worse than missing than the sorrow of missing her was the fact that Mom's death had revealed everything to be meaningless. So much of what I'd thought was true had turned out to be an illusion. I saw the people around me living by these illusions - that love and safety could be counted on, that life had meaning and the future could be controlled - and I did not see that I could ever again share their suspended belief."
"Sometimes suicide was a door in my peripheral vision, a potential exit that I could step through at any time. I felt better and calmer just knowing it was there, that I wasn't trapped."
"To live in the world, I realized then and still believe, you have to participate, you have to make relationships and meaning for yourself, because there is no ultimate design. You have to pretend that it is impossible for a killer to come in the night and destroy everything. I will never forget that improbability is not the same as impossibility."
Further review to come, as I allow the pages Sarah so beautifully wrote to sink further into me, word by word and line by line.
P.S. - Since I can't seem to add quotes to Goodreads as of yet from Sarah or the book, I'll feature them at the bottom of my review. Again, isn't her writing mesmerizing?!
"But a violent act is an epicenter; it shakes everyone within reach and creates other stories, cracks open the earth and reveals buried secrets. I want those stories, I want those secrets.”
"I had seen what a person could do and I could never unsee it; I was unclean, poisoned. I looked into my pupils in the mirror and there seemed to be no bottom to the black. Just as much as I feared him out in the world, I feared him within me."
"Almost worse than missing than the sorrow of missing her was the fact that Mom's death had revealed everything to be meaningless. So much of what I'd thought was true had turned out to be an illusion. I saw the people around me living by these illusions - that love and safety could be counted on, that life had meaning and the future could be controlled - and I did not see that I could ever again share their suspended belief."
"Sometimes suicide was a door in my peripheral vision, a potential exit that I could step through at any time. I felt better and calmer just knowing it was there, that I wasn't trapped."
"To live in the world, I realized then and still believe, you have to participate, you have to make relationships and meaning for yourself, because there is no ultimate design. You have to pretend that it is impossible for a killer to come in the night and destroy everything. I will never forget that improbability is not the same as impossibility."
balletbookworm's review
5.0
An extremely compelling book of memoir and crime writing. Sarah Perry confronts a lot in this book - institutionalized sexism and misogyny, family violence, domestic abuse, gender roles, trauma - and has created a complete work that brings her mother’s life and her own life into parallel and contrasting narratives. At the same time, there is no sensationalism. Although the catalyst for the work was the trial of her mother’s murderer, Perry uses the information she has gathered to better understand the parent she was denied the opportunity of knowing in life.
sarahlopod's review against another edition
5.0
This was an amazing memoir. Sarah Perry comes from a small town in Maine, not far from where I grew up, which is part of why I read their memoir. Although I hadn't heard of her mother's death, I feel drawn to reading 'local' books. Perry was witness to her mother's brutal murder; this memoir follows her childhood before and after the incident, her relationships with her mother and those around them, and the lengthy journey it took to find the killer. Emily Woo Zeller reads the audiobook and her voice fits incredibly well, I highly recommend listening if you're able. The story as a whole is devastating and very well-done.