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challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Vomit, Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse
Listen, the story itself undoubtedly deserves 5 stars - I just think it is better suited as a play than a novel.
I liked this because it forced me to think about things in a way I wouldn’t usually, which I guess is one of the best things about books. Some of it was a tough read and I put it down mid sentence not because it was bad but just emotional and kinda heartbreaking
Finished in bed
Finished in bed
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I had previously watched the National Theatre’s live recording of Prima Facie and was absolutely enthralled by the captivating script and Jodie Comer’s exceptional performance. Naturally, I was interested in reading Suzie Miller's reimagining of her play as a novel. Over the weekend, I listened to Prima Facie's audiobook, where Comer reprised her role as Tessa and narrated it. Just like when I first watched the play, I was hooked by every word.
Miller’s writing is superb, and the first-person perspective really draws the reader into Tessa’s psyche and emotional journey. Miller’s scriptwriting history is apparent in her writing style, which leans more into the emotions rather than spending pages on descriptive text. I really enjoyed this fast-paced take on the story, which was just as emotionally impactful as the theatrical version.
Jodie Comer was a perfect casting choice to bring the prose adaptation of Prima Facie to life. Comer was magnificent as Tessa on stage, capturing the character’s complexity as the reader gains a more detailed insight into her youth and the woman she later becomes. This book offers a devastating and brutal side of such a severe crime from both the victim and the justice system, but it is a story that needs to be told and Miller gives the reader a character that the audience can truly care about as the story unfolds.
Miller’s writing is superb, and the first-person perspective really draws the reader into Tessa’s psyche and emotional journey. Miller’s scriptwriting history is apparent in her writing style, which leans more into the emotions rather than spending pages on descriptive text. I really enjoyed this fast-paced take on the story, which was just as emotionally impactful as the theatrical version.
Jodie Comer was a perfect casting choice to bring the prose adaptation of Prima Facie to life. Comer was magnificent as Tessa on stage, capturing the character’s complexity as the reader gains a more detailed insight into her youth and the woman she later becomes. This book offers a devastating and brutal side of such a severe crime from both the victim and the justice system, but it is a story that needs to be told and Miller gives the reader a character that the audience can truly care about as the story unfolds.
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
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
Well worth a read if you have any interest in the criminal justice system / women’s experiences in that setting.
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
This is absolutely INCREDIBLE. I hesitate to say that I enjoyed this book because the subject matter is so confronting, but I am so grateful to have read it. This book really helped put into words for me the problems and contradictions within the law that I knew existed, but struggled to articulate.
Our legal system is based on the presumption of innocence and has developed a 'formula' to reach the legal truth. This system has been developed to address the impossible task of discerning the 'truth' of a matter- which does not really exist. The truth is what can be proven, the legal truth. This is meant to protect innocent people from conviction, but it also protects the guilty ones, particularly in relation to sexual assault.
Where there is a case, a barristers test the law, and test the testimony against the law. If innocent people are convicted, or guilty people walk free, then the prosecutor or defence barrister has not done their job well enough.
It relies on due process, and upon the assumption that the law will find the right balance between the two arguments, delivering justice. But the reality is, this is not always the case.
The role of the defence barrister is to test the witness' story over and over, to get under their skin until they stumble and get defensive, to dig out any inconsistencies. Once it appears the witness has lied once, nothing they say can be trusted.
It is shocking that this would be the expectation of a rape victim. That they must recount their assault with perfect clarity and articulate this in a full courtroom, in front of their rapist, otherwise they are not to be believed- there is 'reasonable doubt'.
Miller sums it up: "He has the right to cross-examine his accuser. Everyone has that right, as they should. But right now, the fact that he gets to sit there through the entire thing and not be cross-examined to check whether his story has holes feels so unfair. He is the one who did this to me. But it feels like I am the one on trial."
"The law of sexual assault spins on the wrong axis. A woman's experience of sexual assault does not fit the male-defined system of truth, so it cannot be truth and therefore there cannot be justice.
We do not interrogate the law's own assumptions, instead we persist in interrogating the victim."
Wow. Could not have said it better myself. I understand why the law is the way it is, we of course cannot make it so that the accused is assumed guilty, but it is so unfair that the alternative means that in sexual assault cases, the onus is on the victim to prove why their account of such a traumatic experience should be believed.
Unfortunately, I don't know the answer.
Our legal system is based on the presumption of innocence and has developed a 'formula' to reach the legal truth. This system has been developed to address the impossible task of discerning the 'truth' of a matter- which does not really exist. The truth is what can be proven, the legal truth. This is meant to protect innocent people from conviction, but it also protects the guilty ones, particularly in relation to sexual assault.
Where there is a case, a barristers test the law, and test the testimony against the law. If innocent people are convicted, or guilty people walk free, then the prosecutor or defence barrister has not done their job well enough.
It relies on due process, and upon the assumption that the law will find the right balance between the two arguments, delivering justice. But the reality is, this is not always the case.
The role of the defence barrister is to test the witness' story over and over, to get under their skin until they stumble and get defensive, to dig out any inconsistencies. Once it appears the witness has lied once, nothing they say can be trusted.
It is shocking that this would be the expectation of a rape victim. That they must recount their assault with perfect clarity and articulate this in a full courtroom, in front of their rapist, otherwise they are not to be believed- there is 'reasonable doubt'.
Miller sums it up: "He has the right to cross-examine his accuser. Everyone has that right, as they should. But right now, the fact that he gets to sit there through the entire thing and not be cross-examined to check whether his story has holes feels so unfair. He is the one who did this to me. But it feels like I am the one on trial."
"The law of sexual assault spins on the wrong axis. A woman's experience of sexual assault does not fit the male-defined system of truth, so it cannot be truth and therefore there cannot be justice.
We do not interrogate the law's own assumptions, instead we persist in interrogating the victim."
Wow. Could not have said it better myself. I understand why the law is the way it is, we of course cannot make it so that the accused is assumed guilty, but it is so unfair that the alternative means that in sexual assault cases, the onus is on the victim to prove why their account of such a traumatic experience should be believed.
Unfortunately, I don't know the answer.